上海十三五城市规划:名人英语简介资料

Florence (Italy)

The Arno River runs through the center of Florence.
Florence is the capital of the region of Tuscany, on Italy's north-west coast. The cultural and historical impact of Florence is overwhelming. However, the city is one of Italy's most atmospheric and pleasant, retaining a strong resemblanceto the small late-medieval center that contributed so much to the cultural and political development of Europe.
Where Rome is a historical hot-pot ,Florence is like stepping back into a Fiat and Vespa-filled Renaissance :the shop-lined Ponte Vecchio, the trademark Duomo, the gem-filled Uffizi Gallery, the turreted Piazza della Signoria and the Medici Chapels.

Duomo cathedral
The remarkable Duomo , with its pink, white and green marble fa? ade and characteristic dome , dominates the city's skyline. The building took almost two centuries to build (and even then the facade wasn't completed until the 19th century), and is the fourth-largest cathedral in the world. The enormous dome was designed by Brunelleschi, and its interior features frescoes and stained-glass windows by some of the Renaissance-era's best: Vasari, Zuccari, Donatello, Uccello and Ghiberti. Take a deep breath and climb up to take a closer look, and you'll be rewarded by fantastic views of the city and an insight into how the dome was so cleverly constructed - without scaffolding . The dome still defines the scale of the city, and no building in town is taller.

Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus can be found in Piazza della Signoria.
Florence was founded as a colony of the Etruscan city of Fiesole in about 200 BC, later becoming the Roman Florentia, a garrison town controlling the Via Flaminia. In the 13th century the pro-papalGuelphs and pro-imperial Ghibellines started a century-long bout of bickering , which wound up withthe Guelphs forming their own government in the 1250s. By 1292 Florence eventually becoming a commercial republic controlled by the Guelph-heavy merchant class.In the latter part of the 14th century the Medicis began consolidating power, eventually becoming bankers to the papacy . Florence became capital of the Kingdom, and remained so until Rome took over in 1875.

Florence used to be badly damged by war (WWII ) and floods (in 1966), fortunately the salvage operation led to the widespread use of modern restoration techniques which have saved artworks throughout the country.

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