Florence is the capital city of Tuscany, a region in Italy.

It was a huge centre for medieval trade and finance and is where the Italian Renaissance began.

The historic city centre was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981, fulfilling the first five criteria of UNESCO’s checklist for the honor.  It’s worth having a look at these cultural criteria as they encapsulate all that is magical and unique about Florence.

World Heritage Site UNESCO Cultural Criteria met by Florence:

I.            To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius

II.            To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design

III.            To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared

IV.            To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history

V.            To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change

Florence Nightingale, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli and Galileo are just a few of the people who were born there.  If you’re considering a vacation in Italy, Florence has to be on your short list!

A Brief History

It’s not easy to condense such a lengthy history, which is, after all, what makes Florence so special.  So here are the main points which would enhance a visit and highlight the best places to see.

• Julius Caesar first established Florence in 59 BC and called it Florentia which means ‘the flourishing’. The main roman roads crossed over at the present day site of Piazza della Repubblica.
• From 400 AD, the city was ruled by Bishops, Ostrogoths (an East Germanic Tribe), the Byzantines (Romans) and the Lombards (Germanic people from Northern Europe).
• In 774, Charlemagne (King of the Franks who conquered most of Western and Central Europe) conqured Florence and it became part of the Duchy of Tuscany but Lucca was the capital.
• In around 1000 AD, Hugo the Great, Margrave of Tuscany, decided to live in Florence instead of Lucca and this simple choice began the golden age of art in the city. In 1013, building began on the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte.
• Before the plague hit in 1348, around a third of people in Florence made their living in the wool industry. In the mid 1300′s, the wool combers revolted because they didn’t belong to a guild and the rest of the textile industry did. The carders were suppressed and the Albizzi family – bitter rivals of the Medici’s – took over Florence for the next fifty years.
• In 1415, Cosimo de’Medici took over, although he ruled from behind the scenes and never held office.

The Medicis were a powerful and influential family in Florence from the 14th to 18th century. The family produced three popes, many rulers of Florence and notable women such as Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, and Marie de Medici who married a French King.  Many members of Spanish, French and English royalty descended from this family. The Medici’s sponsored some of the most famous works of Renaissance art, including pieces by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli.

The Medici Bank was one of the most wealthy and widely respected institutions in Europe. Accountants today can thank the Medici’s for the system of double-entry bookkeeping which they developed.  The Medici’s were the richest European family for a lengthy period.  This gave them political power in Florence and then in both Italy and Europe.

Medici rule ended in 1494 when the French King, Charles VIII invaded Northern Italy and a republican government was installed.

• A contemporary monk, Girolamo Savanarola blamed the Medici downfall on what he saw as decadence and attachment to material wealth. He went too far when he publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption and was eventually burnt at the stake in the Piazza della Signoria in 1498.
• Niccolò Machiavelli was employed by the Medici’s and lobbied for their successful return to power but the people overthrew them again and a republic was declared in 1527. However, the Medici’s won the support of the Emperor and the Pope. In 1537 they were made hereditary dukes of Florence and in 1569, declared Grand Dukes of Tuscany. They ruled for the next 200 years.
• The Medici family became extinct in 1737 and Florence briefly came under Austrian rule and then a province of Italy in 1861.
• Florence became the capital of Italy in 1865 and tragically, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and numerous medieval houses were torn down to make way for new buildings. This was stopped by a few outraged British and American people who lived in Florence and a museum recording this disaster is nearby.
• In 1871, Rome took over as the capital of Italy.
• The Germans occupied Florence from 1943 to 1944. There are war cemeteries outside the city holding Allied troops who finally drove the Germans out. The retreating Germans blew up bridges along the Arno River to prevent troops crossing after them. Hitler forbade them to blow up the Ponte Vecchio as he said it was too beautiful. Sadly, an historic area of streets including some of the Corridoio Vasariano was destroyed by mines. The bridges have since been restored to their original designs but the building were rebuilt with a mix of old and new.
• As they retreated, the Germans killed many freedom fighters and opponents publicly in the streets, including Piazza Santo Spirito.
• In November of 1966, the river Arno flooded the city centre and damaged many treasured works of art. Although they knew the flood was forecast, the authorities only notified a jeweller on the Ponte Vecchio. There are plaques on the walls showing where the waters reached.

Places to visit

The Cathedral Complex

The Duomo also called The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

The domed cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore is the best known building in Florence.  Six hundred years after it was finished, the dome is still the largest one in the world that was built from bricks and mortar.  The Cathedral was competed in 1436 and is extremely beautiful.  The exterior is clad in pink and green marble.  The cathedral complex includes the Duomo, the Baptistry and Giotto’s Campanile.

The Battistero of San Giovanni also called the Florence Baptistry or Baptistery of St. John

This is an octagonal basilica in the Piazza del Duomo and is one of the oldest buildings in Florence.  It was constructed between 1059 and 1128.  Michelangelo called the broze doors of the Baptistry “the Gates of Paradise” because they were, and still are, so beautiful.  Until the end of the 1800′s, all Catholics in Florence were baptized here.  This included members of the Medici family and important Reneaissance figures.

Giotto’s Campanile

This is a beautiful free-standing bell tower adjacent to the Baptistry and Duomo.  It is 84.7 metres / 277.9 feet high and (along with the Duomo dome) gives the best view of Florence, so it’s worth the climb.

The Ponte Vecchio

This medieval bridge spans the Arno River and still has shops along it, as was common in the Middle Ages.  The first shop keepers were butchers but now it has jewellers, art dealers and souvenir vendors.  It is 30 metres / 98 feet long and 32 metres / 100 feet wide.

Palazzo Vecchio

The name is Italian for ‘Old Palace’ and this is Florence’s Town Hall.  It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria and has a copy of Michelangelo’s David.  It was home to a Medici Duke.

Palazzo Pitti also called Pitti Palace

This is a huge Renaissance Palace on the South of the Arno, not far from the Ponte Vecchio.  The middle of the Palace dates back to 1458 and was the Town House of Luca Pitti who was a banker.  The Medici’s then bought it in 1549 andit was where they kept their extensive art and jewelry collection.  In the late 1700′s, Napoleon stayed there.  It was given to the people in 1919 by King Victor Emmanuel III and now it houses the art collection of the Medicis and is a huge tourist attraction.

Uffizi

This art museum is one of the most famous in the World and is the reason that many people visit Florence.  It was built for Cosimo de’Medici, with construction beginning in 1560 and ending in 1581.  Medici wanted it to house the best works of art from the huge family collection.  Vasari, who was the architect of the building, also wrote a book called Lives of the Artists which was published in 1550 and again in 1568.  He noted that artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo met at the Ufficzi “…for beauty, for work and for recreation.”

In 1993, a car bomb damaged parts of the palace and killed five people.  The worst damage was to the room housing classical sculptures which have now been restored.  Sadly, the frescoes on the interior were damaged beyond repair.  The Sicilian Mafia were thought to have been responsible.

In peak season (July), the waiting time to get into the Uffizi can be up to five hours so visitors are strongly advised to reserve a ticket in advance.  You can buy them online from the Uffizi website here.

Just a few of the many world famous paintings at the Uffizi

• Caravaggio (Bacchus, The Sacrifice of Isaac, Medusa)
• Sandro Botticelli (Primavera, The Birth of Venus, The Adoration of the Magi and others)
• Leonardo da Vinci (The Annunciation, The Adoration of the Magi)
• Michelangelo (The Doni Tondo)
• Raphael (Madonna of the Goldfinch, Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi)
• Titian (Flora, Venus of Urbino)
• Parmigianino (The Madonna of the Long Neck)
• Rembrandt (Self portrait as a young man, Self portrait as an old man, Portrait of an old man)

Boboli Gardens

These formal gardens date back to the 1500′s and are behind the Pitti Palace.  They were made for the wife of Cosimo de’Medici and contain avenues, elaborate statues, fountains, grottos and temples.  A conduit was built to carry water from the Arno to the irrigation system contained within the gardens.

So little time…so much to see!

There is so much to see in Florence that it is impossible to cover it all here. 

Other major tourist attractions include the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Basilica of Santa Mario del Santo Spirito, the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, San Miniato al Monte, the Basilica of Santa Croce and Santa Maria del Carmine.

Florence is a magical and unforgettable city so please, try and see it!

Planning a visit to Florence is easy if you book through  Expedia.com! . You can book flights, hotels and car hire quickly and easily online.

Tonight we went for dinner to one of Ayla’s favorite restaurants, The Sizzling Mongolian BBQ House at 2/144 Indooroopilly Rd, Taringa.  Its on the corner of Indooroopilly Rd and Gailey Rd.

This is an experience not to be missed. The food is beautifully  fresh and served in a novel way.

You pick up a bowl and walk past two large segmented chillers,  filling your bowl from a assortment of shaved meats including Lamb, Pork, Beef and Chicken, sliced and diced vegetables and sauces. Then you hand your plate to the chef who cooks the food on a large circular barbeque.

The chef spreads the food over a large round hot bbq plate and stirs and gathers it as he moves around the drum like cooker.  With a final flourish he places the cooked food back into the bowl.

You then have a selection of finishing sauces to choose from to top off the meal – Oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce, satay sauce, chili sauce and  a finally you can add a sprinkle of nuts.

You can go back as often as you like.  The food is tasty and you can experiment with the types of sauces you add so that each dish has a different flavor.

So if you are looking for a great place to eat in the Taringa/Indoooroopilly area in Brisbane, do yourself a favour and head on to the Sizzling Mongolian BBQ House.

The Restaurant

The Meat

The Vegetables

The Sauces

The Chef

The Chef

The Interior

The Decor

The Decor

The Sizzling Mongolian BBQ House Sign

Torre del Mangia Siena

Strolling around Siena in the mid morning sunlight and stopping to have a cool gelato on the steps of the Duomo is just one of  those delightful experiences that firmly imprint on your memory.

And nothing could dampen our fond memories of Siena, even though our car was broken into and our traveling companion, a stuffed dog named Chili, and Paula’s driving glasses were taken. This was the only unpleasant incident we experienced during our time traveling around Europe.

So onto ‘What you need to know about Siena’

Siena (also often spelled Sienna) is the capital of the province of Siena and is in Tuscany, Italy.  In 1995, the beautiful, historic City centre was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  This means that the state still owns Siena but it is considered of International importance to preserve the site.

Brief History of Siena

Siena was first inhabited by an Etruscan tribe called the Saina.  They made a settlement there from around 900 BC to 400 BC, building irrigation channels to improve the land.

During the rule of the Emperor Augustus, the Romans took over and called the town Saena Julia.  This is where Siena got its emblem of a female wolf suckling the baby twins, Romulus and Remus.  Rome itself was named after Romulus and legend has it that Siena was founded by the son of Remus, Senius.

Siena didn’t do well under Roman rule mostly due to its situation.  It was off the beaten track and so traders passed by.  It was so isolated that Christianity didn’t reach there until 400 AD.  About 100 years later, the Germanic Lombards invaded Sienna, re-routing roads and bringing prosperity to the town.  It also served as a resting place for pilgrims travelling to and from Rome.

In 774, the Lombards surrendered to Charlemagne and many abbeys were founded during this time.  The feudal system lasted until 1115 with the death of Countess Matilda and the area was broken up into several smaller regions.

However, Siena continued to prosper and became a large centre for money lending and trading wool.  It was originally run by the Bishop but during a dispute with a neighbouring city, Arezzo, the Bishop gave away a lot of power in exchange for help.  This culminated in Siena declaring independence and by 1179 it had its’ own written constitution.

This began the period that started the building of the Siena that exists today.  Most of the construction of the Cathedral (called the Duomo) was finished in the early 1200′s.  The Piazza del Campo became the centre with new streets built to lead to it.  Siena’s University, still famed today for law and medicine, was founded in 1240.  Throughout the 1200′s and 1300′s, Siena was a rival to Florence in the Arts and many examples of late Medieval and early Renaissance art still exist today.

Siena still keeps its ‘ward’ or area set-up from medieval times.  Each ward has its own identity, an animal emblem or mascot and its own boundary.  During the annual horse race in the Piazza del Campo, these ward rivalries can be seen in action!

What should I go to see if I visit?

The Duomo – This is Siena’s Cathedral.  Building began in the twelfth century and the façade was finally finished in 1380.

It is one of the greatest examples of Italian Romanesque architecture and is very unusual for a Christian Cathedral because it has an axis running north to south.  This is because the original aim was for it to be the largest Cathedral ever built and it would have a north south transept and an east west aisle as all Cathedrals do.

However, after the transept and the east wall were built, there was no money left in the budget and so building came to an abrupt halt.

The east wall still exists today and visitors may climb it by means of an internal staircase.

The Cathedral also houses a famous Gothic pulpit built in the 1260′s.

Piazza del Campo - the town square which includes the gothic Palazzo Pubblico which is the Town Hall and also an art museum housing some fine medieval pieces.

The Torre del Mangia - a tower in Piazza del Campo built between 1325 and 1348.  The clock was put onto the tower in 1360.   The tower and the Duomo were purposely built to exactly the same height to show that the Church and the state were equal in power.  The tower walls are around 11 feet thick and the stairs to the top are cramped allowing for one way traffic only.  Only 25 visitors are allowed up the tower at any one time.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena – the oldest bank in the world.  Founded in 1472 and still operating today with around 28,000 employees.  It is on the Piazza Salimbeni in the building called Palazzo Samlimbeni.  It houses an amazing art collection and pricelss historical documents sadly not often on view to the public.  However, it is well worth a visit.  How often do you get to step inside a medieval bank?

Sanctuary of Santa Caterina – and the home of Saint Catherine of Siena.  It holds a crucifix which dates back to the late 12^th Century from which Catherine is said to have been given her stigmata, as well as a 15^th Century statue of the Saint.  Catherine lived from March 1347 to April 1380 and was the youngest of 25 children.  At age 19 she experienced a ‘marriage’ to Christ and dedicated her life to him, corresponding with contemporary luminaries including Pope Gregory XI.  She called him ‘Papa’ in many of the 300 letters which survive.  Her body is buried in Rome.  In 1940 Pope Pius XII named her as a joint patron saint of Italy (along with Saint Francis of Assisi).  She is also the patroness of the American sorority, Theta Phi Alpha.

Gardens - including the Orto Botanico dell’Università di Siena, a famous botanical garden.

Jazz - the Siena Jazz School which is housed in the Medicean Fortress, runs courses and concerts all year round.  Concerts are held in the town squares and in other towns in the province of Siena.

If you love history and art then Siena is a dream place to visit.  Make sure it’s on your itinerary for a trip you’ll never forget. We had a lovely time strolling around taking in the beauty of Siena and the surrounding countryside.

One of the biggest concerns when vacationing abroad is how to avoid cholera when you are traveling. Getting sick in a foreign country is a scary thought. However there are a few things you can do to protect yourself from coming down with a nasty bug when out and about in a less developed country.

Let’s break avoiding disease down into the type of travel you’re planning. If you’ll be staying in hotels and eating at restaurants then you’ll take a much different tactic than if you’re backpacking in a remote area.

Typical tourist travelers only need to take a few simple precautions. The most obvious one is “don’t drink the water” order bottled water to drink and even for brushing your teeth. If you get a drink in a restaurant get it without ice cubes.  Make sure your  avoid any leafy vegetables. They could have been rinsed off in contaminated water. Instead stick with fruits and veggies that have a thick peel like bananas, oranges, and avocados. A little bit of common sense is all it takes to keep healthy on your trip.

I always carry a small bottle of  hand sanitzer gel which is a hand cleaning agent that doesn’t require water. Simply squirt a splosh into your palm and rub your hands together to get rid of germs and bacteria. Hand sanitizer is also available in handy to carry wipes.

Backpackers don’t have the same luxuries as the typical tourist. If you’ve decided to hike and pack in to remote areas then you have to have a water purifier. There are all sorts of commercial models out there. You can add chemicals to treat the water as well. But by far the safest thing you can do is boil your water before using it for anything.  It’s bad enough to get sick, but it’s even worse when you are far away from home and any sort of medical care.

Watching what you eat and drink and purifying the water is your best bet when thinking about how to avoid cholera when you are traveling. A little bit of forethought can prevent any nasty incidents and let you enjoy a well-earned vacation.