To visit Florence is to visit the "Cradle of the Renaissance". You can discover this beauty by visiting its churches and museums and immersing yourself in what you see.

Although you can trace its origin to the first century B.C., it started to flourish in painting, sculpture, literature and architecture under the powerful Medici family.

Opera was born in Florence. It is also known as the city of the flower. It is quite a large city that was bombed heavily during WWII. The only bridge left standing is the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) which was built in the 10th century. It is now lined with jewelers and silversmiths shops.

One of the most famous sculptures in Italy is housed in The Academia, which happened to be closed to tourists on the day we were in town. The statue is by Michelangelo and it is the statue of David. You can find duplicates of the statue in various places in Florence, plus cheap replicas at all of the souvenir stands.

One of those duplicates is located at the Piazzale Michelangelo, a park across the Arno River overlooking the whole city of Florence. We also saw: the magnificent neo-Gothic Duomo or Cathedral which is covered with pink, green and white Tuscan marble; the bronze doors of the Baptistry; the Piazza della Signoria, which is the citys largest square containing much art work; the outside of the Palace Vecchio; the Ponte Vecchio; and the Church of Santa Croce, which is the largest and most beautiful of Italys Franciscan churches with Gothic architecture, which contains over 270 tombstones along with grand monuments of the most notable Italians.