The Companion Guide to Florence

The city state of Florence led the rest of the western world in art, science and political idealism in the middle ages. This early richness, the importance of the achievements of its famous sons, including Dante, Giotto, Leonardo and Michelangelo, the great quantity of visible remains, make Florence as a city to visit both alluring and challenging. In true Companion Guide manner, this book describes, with the knowledge and insight distilled from long residence in Florence, and with an art historian's eye, what is to be seen and its place in history. In discussing the Florentine monuments and their origins in the city's life, Eve Borsook presents a study of the ideas, events and personalities of Florence yesterday and today; she communicates to the visitor her delight in her chosen city, including those districts usually neglected by the tourist but particularly rich in Florentine life.

OF THE GREAT CITIES of the world, Florence is, and always has been, small, but has nevertheless led the world in art, science and political idealism from the middle ages to modern times. Dante, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Galileo and so many other giants were all Florentines; the importance of their achievements and the great quantity of visible remains which they have left behind, along with an idyllic setting, make Florence uniquely attractive. Eve Borsook, an art historian living in the city, unravels Florence's history in chapters devoted to each neighbourhood. Her perfect day in Florence includes a church, a stroll through a market, a visit to a craftsman in his workshop, a museum -- and a picnic; with this guide to hand, the visitor to Florence may follow suit.