The Art of Florence - Cradle of the Renaissance

Brunelleschi’s Foundling Hospital, begun in 1419, was the first building to embody stylistic elements indisputably identifiable as Renaissance. See Michelangelo’s David, the ‘Slaves’ in the Accademia and the frescoes and panels of pious simplicity by Fra Angelico in the Friary of S. Marco. In the afternoon visit the redoubtable Palazzo Pitti, which houses several museums including the Galleria Palatina, outstanding particularly for High Renaissance and Baroque paintings.

Avoid the busiest of the daily crowds by heading early to the Uffizi, Italy’s most important art gallery, which has masterpieces by every major Florentine painter as well as international Old Masters. After, pause to take in Piazza della Signoria, civic centre of Florence with masterpieces of public sculpture. The afternoon is free for independent exploration.

The cluster of cathedral buildings occupies the morning; the baptistry with its Byzantine mosaics and Renaissance sculpture; the polychromatic marble Duomo itself, capped by Brunelleschi’s massive dome; and the collections in the superbly renovated cathedral museum. Lunch is at a restaurant on the Piazzale Michelangelo before a visit to S. Miniato al Monte, the Romanesque abbey church with panoramic views of the city.

Visit Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library, whose architectural components would herald the onset of Mannerism. A Medici morning includes S. Lorenzo, the family parish church designed by Brunelleschi and their burial chapel in the contiguous New Sacristy with Michelangelo’s enigmatic sculptural ensemble.The afternoon is devoted to S. Maria Novella, the Dominican church with many works of art (Masaccio’s Trinità, Ghirlandaio’s frescoed sanctuary).

See the Renaissance statuary at the church-cum-granary of Orsanmichele, then the Bargello, housing Florence’s finest sculpture collection with works by Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo and others. Walk to the vast Franciscan church of S. Croce, favoured burial place for leading Florentines and abundantly furnished with sculpted tombs, altarpieces and frescoes. In the afternoon are the extensive Boboli Gardens, at the top of which is an 18th-century ballroom and garden overlooking olive groves. See the Masaccio/Masolino fresco cycle in the Brancacci Chapel, a highly influential work of art which guided all subsequent generations of Renaissance artists.

Visit S. Spirito, Brunelleschi’s last great church, with many 15th-century altarpiece, and the Rucellai Chapel in the deconsecrated church of S. Pancrazio, now part of the Museo Marino Marini. Fly from Florence Airport, arriving at London City at c. 5.30pm.