The wonders of the Italian Renaissance
Tuscany is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.
With Florence (Firenze) to the East, Siena to the South, and Pisa to the West, all just a short drive away, Hotel Kadampa is an ideal base to explore the wonders of Renaissance art and architecture.
Florence
Foremost among the ‘Renaissance cities’ is Florence. Boasting among its former citizens such notables as Dante Alighieri, Giotto, Michelangelo Buonarrotti, Niccolò Macchiavelli, Filippo Brunelleschi, Bocaccio, Masaccio, Botticelli, Cimabue, and the Medici family, it can truly be said to be the cradle of the Renaissance.
The entire city is a virtual treasure trove of Renaissance art and architecture. Its best-known site and crowning architectural jewel is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore. The nearby Campanile tower (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. Both the dome itself and the campanile are open to tourists and offer excellent views.
At the heart of the city in Piazza della Signoria is Bartolommeo Ammanati’s Fountain of Neptune, which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct.
The recently restored Uffizi Gallery is one of the most beautiful and well-known museums in the world. It contains works by Botticelli, Giotto, Piero della Francesca, Caravaggio, Raphael, Tiziano, Simone Martini, Duccio di Boninsegna, Cimabue, and also by Rembrandt, Rubens and Velasquez.
And, of course, no visit to Florence would be complete without a trip to the Accademia di Belle Arti to view Michelangelo’s masterpiece, David.
Pisa
Here you can spend a day at the Campo dei Miracoli or “Field of Miracles”, which besides being the site of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is also the location of the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Camposanto (the monumental cemetery).