Florence is a vast and beautiful monument to the Renaissance, the artistic and cultural reawakening of the 15th century.
Writers such as Dante, Petrarch and Macchiavelli contributed to its proud literary heritage, though it was the paintings and sculptures of artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo and Donatello that turned the city into one of the world's greatest artistic capitals.
Historic Florence is a surprisingly compact area, and the majority of the sights described on the following pages can easily be reached on foot.
Most visitors head for the Duomo, the city's geographical and historical focus, ideally placed to explore the Campanile, Baptistry and Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
To the south is Piazza della Signoria, long the city's political heart, flanked by the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's town hall,and the Uffizi, one of Italy's leading art galleries.
To the east lies the church of Santa Croce, home to frescoes by Giotto and the tombs of some of Florence's greatest men.
To the west stands Santa Maria Novella, the city's other great church, also adorned with fresco-filled chapels.
Across the Ponte Vecchio, and the Arno-the river that bisects the city-is the district of Oltrarno, dominated by Santo Spirito and the vast Pitti Palace, containing galleries with works by great Renaissance artists including Raphael and Titian.