From April 14 to July 7, 2010 the Prince's Passage is open to the public. This means that it is possible to walk on the same passage that the Medici have used for centuries to move, unseen, between their two residences: Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti. This is an exceptional event for our city. I am a tour guide and I haven't seen it!

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Soccer (not football) is Italy National SPORT.
What is played in the month of June in Florence Piazza Santa Croce is considerd the ancestor of the today most popular game,  with which it has many differences being more physical and violent. One might say that it is closer to the current rugby rather than soccer itself.

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For March 27, 2010 WWF has organised a global call: Earth Hour. This event is an invitation to theworld to turn off TOGHETHER and at the same time all our lights for one hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

A call to stand up , to show leadership that we care for our future and for our planet!

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Giorgio De Chirico visited Florence in 1909 when he was 21 years old. It was here in Florence that he had a vision that changed his life: “on a clear autumn afternoon I was sitting on a bench in the middle of piazza Santa Croce […] I had the strange impression that I was looking at all these things for the first time, and the composition of my picture came to my mind’s eye [...] the moment is an enigma to me, for it is inexplicable’.

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The church of Santa Croce, largest Franciscan church in existence, founded in 1294 , is considered the Pantheon of Italian glories. It  honors some of the most important names of Italian history and culture, those who strongly impacted art, history, literature and music.

 The most famous tombs are those of Michelangelo, Niccolò Machiavelli, Vittorio Alfieri, Galileo Galileo, Leonardo Bruni, Giacchino Rossini and Lorenzo Ghiberti done by some very reknown artists such as Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano and Canova.

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The Uffizi Gallery is one of the most important museums of the world.
One of those places that you have to see, at least once in life like the Louvre in Paris, the Prado in Madrid, the National Gallery in London, etc. ...
In the Uffizi you not only admire world masterpieces, you can especially appreciate and understand the development of Italian art from the Middle Ages (late 1200) to the late Baroque, passing through the major artists of the Renaissance.

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On Easter morning all Florentines crowd aroud the cathedral to see what the "Colombina" will do. The "colombina" is a rocket, shaped like a dove (dove=colomba in Italian) that is lit during the Mass (during the "Gloria"). So the colombina flies to the cart that is located exactly outside the main door inbeteween the Cathedral and the Baptistry, to explode it.

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On the second floor of Palazzo Davanzati there is the bridal chamber of Tommaso Davizzi and of Catelana degli Alberti.
This bedroom is especially interesting because there are the frescos with the story of the Chatelaine de Virgy: an intrigue of love, seduction and betrayal that ends in tragedy.

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Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, last heir of the Medici family died in Florence, February 18th  1743. The city has decided to remember the Electress Palatine, that has been so important for Florence, in a very special way.
On the facade of San Lorenzo Basilica you'll be able to see the project that Michelangelo had thought for this church.

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Florence is no doubt a place that can be continuiously discovered: the more you know it,  the more you realise that there is still so much you still need to know.
Florence is a lifelong love, at least for me.
So I thought to list my top 10 ten places: a list of those palaces, churces, museums that will make your trip to Florence memorable.

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