Things to see and do Toscane

A place with an atypical history! There was once an oratory dedicated to the Archangel Michael, built in the garden of a Benedictine monastery. Since then, there has been a portico that was enlarged and consolidated in 1337, as the current two-storey structure was built above it to store wheat in the event of famine. In 1380, because of the increasingly intense devotion to an image of the Madonna placed on a pilaster in the portico, the arcades on the ground floor were closed. The portico was thus transformed into an unusual church with two naves, which is now the worthy setting for a splendid marble tabernacle in Gothic style, the work of the Florentine sculptor Andrea Orcagna. This old church, transformed into a grain market and then again into a church, houses a beautiful, albeit somewhat dark, interior of medieval architecture.

Among the statues that adorn the exterior of the Orsanmichele church are those of Lorenzo Ghiberti in bronze, on the side of Arte della Lana Street, representing Saint Matthew, at the corner of Orsanmichele Street, and Santo Stefano. Those of Donatello - Saint George - and Verrocchio - a group with the Unbelief of Saint Thomas - towards Calzaioli Street have been replaced by copies (the originals being at the Bargello Museum). These statues were financed by the Florence merchant corporations, proof that the commercial activity was closely linked to religion and art. A few steps away, stands the imposing Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria.

If the medieval squares of Italian cities rival each other in beauty, Volterra is one of the most beautiful. The Plaza de los Priores is lined with severe but superb palaces, including the Episcopal Palace (Palazzo Vescovile), an old municipal granary, the elegant Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, the Palazzo Pretorial (Palazzo Pretorio) and its Torre del Porcellino with a unique silhouette at its top. Among this mosaic, the 13th century Palazzo dei Priori (Palace of the Priors) is the oldest municipal palace in Tuscany.

Piazza del Duomo, the religious heart of Siena, is now a compulsory point of passage for your walk in the city! The Plaza del Duomo is bordered by the Santa Maria della Scala Hospital, the neo-Gothic palace of the archbishopric (palazzo Arcivescovile), the palace of the Governor of the Medicis and the superb, splendid, magnificent (words are missing...) Cathedral Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, a masterpiece of Sienese Gothic. In the shape of an "L", the Place du Dôme continues towards Piazza Jacopo della Quercia on the right side of the cathedral.

Located at the intersection of Città, Banchi di Sotto and Banchi di Sopra streets, the loggia della Mercanzia, an elegant building between late Gothic and Renaissance, once housed the Siena Commercial Court. Built between 1428 and 1445, this pretty portico is known for the statues representing the city's patron saints, which adorn its pilasters: San Savino, Sant'Ansano, San Vittore, San Pietro and San Paolo. On the sides, finely carved marble benches represent philosophers of antiquity.

In Roman times, the Piazza della Repubblica, where the cardo and the decumanus meet, was home to a forum, the political and economic heart of ancient Florentia. Under the Medici there was a market, the Mercato Vecchio. It is a pleasant square nowadays lined with terraces, an obligatory passage to reach the Mercato Nuovo. This elliptical square is one of the lungs of the city because depending on the streets taken, very different aspects of Florence present themselves to the visitor. A remnant of the past, the Colonna dell'Abbondanza represents the exact centre of Florence.

Fontebranda means Siena! With its brick arches, this old fountain, begun in 1193, was used to quench the population's thirst, to local industries, especially tanners, and as a watering place for animals. The water came from an extraordinary network of underground aqueducts, dug into the rock. Given the crucial importance of water for the city, Fontebranda was one of the nerve centres of Sienese daily life. Sung by Dante, told by Alfieri, Fontebranda is the city's most famous and ancient source.

A medieval political heart, the vital centre of the city and today a major tourist attraction, the main square of the Republic of Cortona is home to important monuments. Among them, the palace of the Captain of the People, also known as Palazzo Passerini, was built in the 13th century, originally as a tower house, then transformed into a palace in the 16th century. As for the communal palace (palazzo Comunale), now the town hall, it dates back to the 12th century and was enlarged several times, particularly in the 16th century. The staircase and its square bell tower date from the 16th century. Unfortunately, the municipal palace cannot be visited, it is used for certain ceremonies, such as weddings. But we can tell you that it houses a Council Chamber famous for its Renaissance fireplace and 19th century frescoes. Finally, the last building that stands out in this square of the Republic is the Laparelli Palace, built by Cristofanello in 1533, and located at the end of Via Guelfa. The square, almost like a balcony, overlooks the neighbouring Signorelli piazza.

In the past, the piazza della Repubblica was the meeting point between the cardo and the decumano:the two main streets of Roman urban planning that constituted the north-south and east-west axis of the ancient Cortona respectively. This meeting point formed the ancient forum where, as you know, Roman citizens gathered to discuss business, whether commercial, political, economic, judicial or religious.

A remarkable cellar, housed in a 400-year-old palace, dug in the tuff and spread over several floors, containing more than a hundred oak barrels. Palazzo Contucci, owned by the homonymous family, which has been producing wine since the mid-seventeenth century, stands in Piazza Grande, the city's highest point. After forty generations, Andrea Contucci continues to produce the noble wine of Montepulciano, characterized by great intensity. The vineyard now covers more than 21 hectares and produces 100,000 bottles. Not to be missed!

After five years of major renovation work, the Museum of the Opera del Duomo has reopened its doors. Inaugurated in 1986, the museum is housed in a building attached to the 13th-century cloister and preserves significant works from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Baptistery of Pisa. In particular, sculptures dating from the 11th and 16th centuries, and works by Giovanni Pisano, including a beautiful Madonna and Child and a magnificent polychrome Christ.

This exceptional site is a former Dominican convent, one of Florence's spiritual and intellectual lungs in the 15th century, open to the public since 1869. Consecrated in 1443, it has welcomed such outstanding personalities as Fra Angelico, Savonarola, Fra Bartolomeo... and was enlarged by Cosme de Médicis. Housed in the 15th century convent, the work of Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, Cosme le Vieux's favourite architect, the museum pays tribute to Beato Angelico (known as Fra Angelico) who, during his stay there, painted intimate and moving frescos on the walls of each of the 44 cells. Images that are now considered icons. Fra Angelico's wonderful Annunciation is visible there, as well as other works belonging to him from Florentine churches and religious institutions. See also the grandiose and touching Crucifixion in the Chapter Hall.

Among the rooms on the first floor, in addition to the cells painted by Fra Angelico, and the apartment of the prior who was inhabited by Savonarola and where he was arrested in 1498, the three-nave room of the library, considered to be Michelozzo's masterpiece, with the Medici palace, should be noted. It is of great architectural and historical interest, and contains no less than thirty thousand works.
Behind the cloister decorated with frescoes by Fra Angelico, a second cloister, dating from the 15th century and dedicated to Saint Dominic, houses five Dominicans who still perpetuate the monastic tradition today in the heart of the urban whirlwind.

Built on the site of an ancient pilgrimage site of importance since the Trecento (i.e. the 14th century in Italy), and since then redesigned, the Basilica of St Mary of Impruneta was consecrated in 1060 by Cardinal Umberto di Selva Candida. Its high crenellated bell tower dates from the 13th century. The interior has a large single nave in Renaissance style, a typical polygonal apse, and includes works by Jacopo Chimenti (1554-1640), trained in Maso San Friano's workshop, and the famous Florentine sculptor Luca della Robbia (1400-1482).

The reputation of this sanctuary, one of the most famous Marian sanctuaries in Tuscany, is based on the cult of the image of the Virgin Mary. Indeed, in the chapel of the Virgin Mary is preserved the famous icon of the Madonna which attracted so many pilgrims during the 14th century, and which tradition assigns to Saint Luke the Evangelist. According to legend, when Christianity arrived, the image of the Virgin Mary was taken to Florence by Saint Romolo. Due to persecutions, he hid the image in pruinetis ("among the pines"), hence the name Impruneta.

The last major restoration of the building dates back to the 1950s. The church was seriously damaged during the Second World War.

Finally, the museum (museo del Tesoro) contains many precious objects (illuminated manuscripts, sacred clothing, gold and silver jewellery...) related to the rich history of this Basilica of Santa Maria.