Exclusive Destination

Often people ask us what’s our favorite museum...and we answer.. the Bargello!! And why’s that? First of all for the building itself....It’s inside of a real Medieval palace of the XIII century that was once a political building, transformed into a prison before turning into a museum in the XIX century. Yes, once it was the main jail of Florence, and have you ever wondered…what were the prisons back then like? How did the justice system work in the Middle Ages or at the time of the Medici? And how were the prisoners treated? All these historical nuances of Florence could be very interesting to learn!! But for sure you’ll love the collection inside! It will leave you breathless!! We have Renaissance statues here for the most part: you can find works of Donatello for instance. He was the father of Renaissance sculpture and here we have so many works done by him! His David is another must-see in Florence! Verrocchio (Leonardo da Vinci’s teacher), Michelangelo, Gianbologna, all these great artists ALL TOGETHER for a complete and satisfying voyage through the statuary of the Florentine Quattrocento-Cinquecento (15 th and 16 th Centuries). Plus there’s a series of fantastic objects mostly from the Middle Ages, from daily life to jewelry to religious items, which are on display through the rooms of the museums to better understand customs and tradition of that time.

More than a tour, it’s a journey through tombs, rumors and Michelangelo’s works! This museum is the burial place of the Medici family. In this visit, just by looking at their graves, you’l learn about the origin, the rise, the glory and the decline of one of the most powerful families of Italy! It’s situated at the back of San Lorenzo church, which once was the Medici family church. San Lorenzo is the district of the famous leather and food market, where the family initially began living. You’ll be fascinated by their lives but also by all the gossip, love stories, murder, poisoning and more that involved the main members of the Medici! With a very great grand finale: the amazing Michelangelo statues inside! Not many people know this, but the main attractions here are the beautiful tombs, designed by Michelangelo inside the New Sacristy, which he also created. It is a perfect combination of architecture and statuary work planned by the Divine Michelangelo. It’ll be impossible to not be charmed by this visit!!!

It’s elegance that characterizes this church. It’s the perfect visit if you want to fill your eyes and your mind with pure beauty. Santa Maria Novella is an icon in Florence. It’s a middle age church with a fine XV century white and green facade, with floral and geometrical patterns, a symbol of Renaissance architecture designed by Leon Battista Alberti The inside is stunning: the Gothic style with Moorish influence creates a very distinct interior. And the works of art are exciting: the Medieval crucifix of the great Giotto is perfectly combined with the Renaissance paintings and frescoes, especially the ones of Masaccio (the father of Renaissance painting) and Ghirladaio. The latter was Michelangelo’s first teacher, and that’s why we think that even the young Michelangelo worked in Santa Maria Novella! Fashion, nice clothes, the way in which people were living back then, all this and more is what we can learn through these frescoes! And our journey through beauty will continue outside, close to the church, with the visit of one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe. It’s not a regular pharmacy. It’s a very special place in Florence that mainly produces skincare products, body lotions, perfumes and liquors, and they are still following the ancient traditions to make them! You can still smell the perfume designed by Catherine of the Medici, Queen of France. You can also try their teas, herbal teas and cakes, if you want to relax after a long day!

This is one uniquely special chapel to visit and discover! The Brancacci chapel is where the Renaissance style began. Beautiful frescoes made by the father of the Renaissance painting: Masaccio. He was the inspiration for all the main artists of the past and still today art students or contemporary artists consider this chapel like the heaven of the Quattrocento (the 1400s). YOU CAN’T MISS IT!! Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, just to name the most famous, saw it and stopped by just to study these extraordinary works peculiar to Florence! Art and Florentine political events are perfectly blended together. “As a plus”- the location: The Brancacci is situated on the Oltrarno area of Florence, the most typical and charming district of the city. It’s ideal if you want to enjoy, after the visit, a nice glass of wine or an artisanal gelato, and take in the enchantment of little artisan shops.

Like most important cities, Florence can be sometimes busy or “intense”. Beyond the crowd and the noise of the city, there’s finally an oasis of peace. That’s the ideal place, if you are looking for beauty, calm and a peculiar religious atmosphere. San Marco church and its museum, host fantastic frescoes made by Beato Angelico in the XV century. This is another side of the Renaissance, a more spiritual one, that will help us also to understand how the life of friars was back in the Middle Age times of the Renaissance. But don’t forget that back then religion often had a strict connection with political life. And even if Saint Mark is outside the typical tourist itinerary, it was completely linked to the history of Florence. The Medici family financed the expansion projects of the church to mark their power even in this part of the city. But they crated here one of the very first public libraries of Europe as well, to show their love for culture, philosophy and literature. It’s also a fundamental place to visit to better understand the labored political events of Florence. Especially when the Medici family were banished from the city, and there was the arrival of Savonarola, a Dominican friar that lived at San Marco, who was an ambiguous figure famous for his fires, for example the bonfire of vanities. His life and these political events will let you appreciate the history of Florence much more, especially if you are thinking of visiting more attractions in the city! Twist and turn are a guarantee!

Florence is not just museums or churches. The city also has pleasant green spaces!! One of the main gardens in the city is Boboli. Almost 44 hectares of pure naturalistic beauty! Wear comfortable shoes and let’s take a walk! The Boboli gardens are the monumental gardens of Pitti Palace. During the second half of the XVI Century, Eleonora da Toledo, Cosimo I of the Medici’s wife, wanted to live in a bigger and more appropriate palace for the family with gardens. That was the reason why they bought Pitti Palace. The first thing they did was to renovate the gardens. At that time, Boboli gardens were completely abandoned, but thanks to the amazing talent of the of Cosimo I’s architects, Ammannati, Buontalenti and Tribolo, they were ABLE TO CREATE SOMETHING UNIQUE! As a matter of fact, Boboli is considered one of the first examples of Renaissance gardens. It follows the natural slopes of the hills that surround the city of Florence. Plants, flowers, artificial grottoes, and statues, will accompany us in this magnificent walk! And moreover, you’ll be doing all this while also learning about Medici life and power from a different perspective! Following Boboli, we’ll continue the visit on to another enchanting garden nearby, the Bardini garden, which will offer you breathtaking views of Florence! And after the tour, feel free to stay there, sitting on a bench with a book or just letting yourself be inspired by beauty of Florence

If you loved the Uffizi gallery and you fell in love with the Renaissance paintings, you can’t miss a visit to this other great museum of Florence: the Palatine gallery! It’s a museum located inside the beautiful Pitti Palace that was the very last residence of the Medici.They lived in this majestic palace from the late XVI century until the end of the dynasty, during the first half of the XVIII century. When Florence was the capital of Italy, even the king of Italy lived here. The paintings follow the taste of the Medici collection. It’s a wide collection that includes a large number of paintings done by Raphael, Titian, and others. Additionally, a complete distinct visit is worth doing because the collection is displayed in elegant rooms with fine furniture from different centuries! Instead if you like something more modern or if you want to learn about painting from the XVIII to XX Century, while remaining in Pitti Palace, there’s another museum to discover: the Modern Gallery. Florence is word-renowned for being the cradle of the Renaissance, but few people know about art and artists in the city at the time of Napoleon or that before the French Impressionist there was another group of artist mostly from Tuscany that had a great revolution in the way of painting by using spots of colors: the Macchiaioli. And also at the time of the Avant-garde, in the beginning of the XX century, Florence had something to say!