The beating heart of Florence is Piazza del Duomo, with its monumental complex of the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore surmounted by Brunelleschi’s majestic dome; St. John’s Baptistery, a magnificent example of the Florentine Romanesque; and Giotto’s Bell Tower, a Florentine Gothic architectural masterwork. 

Piazza della Signoria represents the historical hub of civil and political life and hosts the 13th-Century Loggia dei Lanzi, the Fountain of Neptune and the Palazzo della Signoria or Palazzo Vecchio, one of the city’s most symbolic monuments. In front of the palace, several statues stand tall, including a copy of Michelangelo’s famous David.

Next to the Piazza is the marvellous Uffizi Gallery, home to one of the most important museums in the entire world, hosting works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and numerous other master artists. A remarkable architectural element of the Uffizi Gallery is the Vasari Corridor, designed by Giorgio Vasari around the mid-fifteenth century; the Corridor connects the Gallery to the Palazzo Vecchio and the Pitti Palace.