Florence: The Baptistery of San Giovanni
An old legend claims that Florence’s beautiful Baptistery of San Giovanni was originally a temple of Mars, the Roman god of war. The Roman emperor Augustus supposedly had it built to celebrate the subjugation of nearby Fiesole (Faesulae in those days) and the early Christians later converted it into a…
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Milan: Pinacoteca di Brera
Milan: Castello Sforzesco
Milan: Biblioteca and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
The driving force behind establishing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana was Federico Borromeo, archbishop of Milan from 1595 until his death in 1631. Borromeo, cousin of Saint Carlo Borromeo, was an important figure in the counter-Reformation movement. In 1609 he founded the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, one of the first public libraries in Europe.…
Milan: Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Florence: Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Florence: Santa Trinita
Florence: The Brancacci Chapel
Florence: Santi Apostoli
Florence: Ognissanti
Florence: San Salvatore al Monte
Florence: San Miniato al Monte
Tuscany: Pontassieve
The pleasant town of Pontassieve owes its existence to Florence. In the middle of the fourteenth century, the Signoria of Florence (i.e. the city government) decided to build a castle at this strategic location, where the river Sieve joins the river Arno. Construction of the castle commenced after a government…
Milan: San Simpliciano
Milan: San Nazaro in Brolo
Saint Ambrosius (ca. 340-397) is credited with founding three or four churches in Milan in the late fourth century. The Basilica Martyrum (now the Sant’Ambrogio) was one of them, the Basilica Virginum (now the San Simpliciano) another. The third church was the Basilica Apostolorum, or the Basilica of the Apostles.…
Milan: Sant’Ambrogio
Fiesole: Museo Civico Archeologico
Fiesole’s small but interesting archaeological museum is located right within the city’s archaeological area, where one can find the remains of an Etruscan wall, a Roman temple, Roman public baths and a Roman theatre that is still used for performances during the summer. Fiesole has had an archaeological museum since…