//
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
The Sacristy contains frescoes by Spinello Aretino. In the cemetery near this church there are graves of famous people of Florence, including Carlo Lorenzi (Collodi) - author of the famous Pinocchio. Also, turn around when you reach the top of the stairs before entering the church, to see perhaps an even greater view of the city than from nearby Piazzale Michelangelo.
San Miniato al Monte is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic churches in Italy. There is an adjoining Olivetan monastery, seen to the right of the basilica when ascending the stairs.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Michelangelo Square
Plaza on a hillside with a great view of the city. Go there by bus or climb the stairs and paths from the Lungarno della Zecca.
Guided rafting trips on the Arno through the historic centre, passing beneath Ponte Vecchio. Tours last about one hour, require no previous experience and are run in inflatable rafts with an instructor in each boat. Equipment is provided; participants should expect to get wet. Booking in advance is required.
Contains the monumental tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante, Rossini, and many other notables in addition to artistic decorations. There is also great artwork in the church. The Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce (included in ticket) displays a flood-damaged but still beautiful Crucifix by Cimabue (Giotto's teacher), which has become a symbol of the disastrous floods of 1966. The ticket also includes Pazzi Chapel, a perfectly symmetrical example of sublime neo-Classic Renaissance architecture.
This museum shows the evolution of the instruments used in various scientific fields such as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, astronomy. The room of Galileo Galilei shows some of his original instruments as well as models from his drawings. The room of Spheres and Globes houses an excellent cartographic collection. In a rather macabre twist the museum also has the middle finger of Galileo's right hand on display. The museum offer some descriptions in Italian and English but you can access other languages by scanning QR codes (Chinese, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, German). The museum offers an open WiFi. It is recommended to have an idea of the principles behind the instruments (as the descriptions on the labels are rather generic). For that, you can download their free audio-guide app available in Italian and English (Google Play, Apple Store) and get an idea of the instruments displayed.
Outstanding fine art museum with Renaissance paintings and sculptures from classical antiquity. It's in a late 16th-century palazzo designed by Vasari, in two wings enclosing a long narrow courtyard, effectively a street, an innovation in its day. Originally the palazzo was magistrates' offices (hence "Uffizi") and state archives; then it came to house the Medici's vast art collection. However, one collections seems to have crossed purposes: the massive number of standardized portraits, placed in the hallway, seem to have been an ID system for identifying important foreigners when they came to town. The artworks are on the first and second floors, they keep the lifts well hidden. Highlights include Birth of Venus by Boticelli, Dukes of Urbino by della Francesca, Medusa by Caravaggio, Venus of Urbino by Titian, Annunciation by da Vinci, Pope Leo X and family by Raphael, Velasquez' self-portrait, Rembrandt's final self-portrait, and many other big names. Allow three hours for a visit. Uffizi specialises in the Renaissance, so although later styles are represented, examples are few: you don't really come here for the 18th- to 20th-century material. The restaurant/cafè has a large balcony overlooking the main piazza with good views of the Palazzo Vecchio, and naturally their prices reflect the views.
Contains frescoes of the Annunciation and a painting of the Deposition of Christ by the brilliant and weird mannerist painter, Pontormo. They are to be found in the Barbadori Chapel, which is to your immediate right when entering the church.