We propose a cultural journey in the historic center of Florence, tracing changes that began in the 13th century and made Florence one of the most active centers in all of Europe by the 15th century, allowing us to situate the palaces, churches, and grand art collections in the proper historical and artistic perspective. Among the significant developments, are the rise of the merchant class, the development and extension of commerce, the creation of banking and financial structures in all of Europe, the constitution of Corporations - or craft guilds - born in order to manage the interests of the different professions, the rapid turnover of republican governments through which these new groups acquired power, and above all the construction of elaborate palaces, both public and private, that affirmed their social and political prestige.

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
We begin in the heart of the oldest quarter of the city: the cathedral, or duomo, the place where life and death receive the stamp of God and where the great celebrations involving the entire community took place. We will consider topics such as the various phases of construction of the present duomo and the destruction of the oldest church, Santa Reparata, which lies beneath and whose foundations preserve Early Christian mosaics of the 4th-5th century that we will see, the financial support from the various guilds above all that of the wool workers, and the competition with the enemy city of Siena. And, the great undertaking of the dome, a massive construction, over 140 feet in diameter, which remained unrealized for 125 years, will bring us to one of the daring adventures of the Italian Renaissance. The work that began in August, 1420 was brought to a successful conclusion thanks only to the technical ability, the creation of mechanical devices, and the brilliant architectonic intuition of Brunelleschi. It marks a milestone in the history of architecture since domes of comparable size, such as the Pantheon in Rome (2nd century AD), had not been built since antiquity.

The doors of the Baptistery
Another enterprise that takes us back into the climate of the Renaissance is the competition announced in 1401 by the Merchants' guild, one of the most powerful, for the decoration of new doors for the north entrance of the Baptistery. In competition were the goldsmith Ghiberti, and Brunelleschi (still 20 years away from his successful bid for the dome project). Upon defeat Brunelleschi left Florence for a journey to Rome with his friend Donatello, where they dedicated themselves to the study of ancient Roman architecture and sculpture, as was then the passion among writers and artists of the age. We will discuss in detail the reasons why Ghiberti's designs for the Baptistery doors prevailed, the characteristics that earned them their fame, his interest in accentuating volume, three-dimensionality, and perspective in the biblical episodes he sculpted, particularly in a subsequent commission for another set of doors in 1425, where the gothic style of the late Middle Ages was definitively abandoned. We will see his adoption of a technique called stiacciato - which Donatello will perfect - in which background is suggested by using lower relief for distant figures than for those in the foreground.

Orsanmichele
The various merchant and trade characteristics that survive in the Florence of today are only a memory - street names like via Dei Calzaiuoli, refering to the makers of the calze or typical knitted pants in vogue at the time - of the fervor of commercial activity that animated Florence from the 1300s onward. The Florence of the Merchants will be explored with discussions of the seven Major Guilds (the wool guild, the silk guild, the furriers, the doctors, the herbalists, the judges, and the notaries), the interests of the entrepreneurs and of the professionals supporting their activity. These themes will come out in our explanation of the various phases of the beautiful Orsanmichele. The building today is a church but it once also housed the market and granary, and it witnessed the construction -at the expense of the most important guilds - of statues for the facade, realized by great artists such as Donatello who carved the splendid St. George. Such works were intended to promote the image of the guilds and their social role well beyond the borders of Florence.

Piazza and Palace of the Signoria
It is the republican heart of the city that during the years of the Republic was erected as the symbol of the city's democracy, the political center of the city as differentiated from the religious one. We will interest ourselves principally in the construction of the imposing Palace of the Signoria (or lords), in the various magistrates, headed by the priors who resided there thus necessitating the adoption of the medieval fortress style of architecture so that these public officials could be protected from the dangers of possible revolts or famines. The Loggia of the Lanzi will take us another step into the sculpture of the Renaissance with the beautiful David by Benvenuto Cellini, great friend of Michelangelo, and the tumultuous Rape of the Sabines by Giambologna. The piazza, among other events, was the site in which the culminating phases of the drama of Savonarola - the Dominican Friar who preached apocalyptic sermons against the worldly excesses of his time, radically expressing the disquiet and conflict between the new morality and the more rigid Christian morality - were played out, including the final episode in which he was burned at the stake in 1498. Toward the middle of the 16th century, with the latest achievement of political dominion over Florence, the Medici family moved into the Palazzo of the Signoria. Many rooms were decorated during their residency.

After a break for a traditional lunch in a good restaurant we will continue our guided visit

Michelangelo's David and the gallery of the Accademia
Michelangelo's David (c. 1501) marks one of the high points of our guided visit. From a block of marble apparently abandoned for more than 40 years after another artist had damaged it, Michelangelo succeeded in sketching out a figure of classical formal perfection and idealized beauty meant to rival antiquity. The wonderfully smooth marble gives a sense of the quiver of the nerves and the tension of the muscles that equals the great sculptures of antiquity and, in the suggestion subtle emotional strain and serene determination conveyed by David's far-reaching gaze, Michelangelo also meant to surpass his ancient models. David is about to load his sling and catapult the shot - potent on account of David's astute aim and not his strength - that will strike dead the invincible giant Goliath. It is not by chance that this statue became the symbol of the Florentine's liberty and that, contrary to the original plan to place it at the Cathedral, it was put directly in front of the Palazzo of the Signoria. In the Accademia there are also Michelangelo's so-called Captives that capture us with the torment expressed by their unfinished feel, they attempt to emerge from the marble, remaining suspended between the languid sensuality of abandon and the fatigue of existence. These works had a great influence, among others, on the art of Rodin.

Gallery of the Uffizi
Then it will be time to visit the gallery of the Uffizi and to encounter many of the artists who made the city famous. The masterpieces of Giotto, Filippo Lippi, Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio will give us ideas, emotions, and immortal stories. Thus we will make a journey into the changes that led Renaissance artists and men to see God and themselves in a new way, giving new relevance to man, his experience, form, and actions - both human and divine. In these paintings the figures and actions of Jesus, Mary, and the saints become humanized, they come to be represented in naturalistic three-dimensional spaces as opposed to the abstract and otherworldly settings typical of the middle ages. And while artistic representations show the baby Jesus tenderly embracing his Mother, the society as a whole took on modern values and habits. One of the objectives of our visit to the Uffizi will be the understanding and appreciation of art and its language.

Ponte Vecchio
With this bridge - reconstructed in 1345 after a terrible flood destroyed the previous one, which had stood there since the end of the 12th century - we come back again to our central theme of the Florence of the merchants. Here, for centuries, there were fish-sellers, butchers, and leather artisans. It is only since the end of the 16th century that these shops were substituted for the more dignified and less malodorous goldsmith shops and jewelers. But at this point it is better to let ourselves be carried by the slow course of the river and its memories so that we can savor the emotion of a journey of the mind and heart into the culture and art of magical Florence.