Florence, Italy

        I cannot think to do a good job of describing the importance of Florence to the Renaissance. Once the capital of Italy, Florence now acts as the capital of Tuscany, or a region in Northern Italy. " It was in Florence that Michelangelo, Leonardo da vinci and a bunch of other brillant 14th to 16th century Tuscan masters carved out art history. Brunelleschi's dome did wonders to the course of architecture, while Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio penned parchments to plant the seeds for a unified Italian language." (lonelyplanet.com/italy/tuscany)

          Florence acted as a home of the Italian renaisance, and as such is rich with magical artwork and marvelous architecture. It seems impossible to talk about Florence without mentioning the Medici or Michelangelo. "The Medici, Michelangelo, and the art of the late Renaissance Florence provide a detailed survey of the art and culture of 16th century Florence, the crucible of the Italian Renaissance. Between 1537 and 1631, the first four Medici grand dukes- Cosimo I: his sons, Francesco I and Ferdinando I; and his grandson, Cosimo II- presided over a spectalur flowering of the arts and sciences, exemplified by the pioneering achievements and dominant legacy of Michelangelo. Celebrated during his lifetime for his extraordinary talent as a sculptor, architect, painter, draftsman, and poet, Michelangelo inspired subsequent Florentine artists and attracted the city's most powerful patrons- notable the Medici grand dukes. Their extensive and enlightened patronage allowed art in all media to flourish. In addition to commissioning portraits and decorative objects for private and public display, the Medici family ordered the reconstruction or renovation of numerous civic buildings and private residences and established several major institutions, including Europe's first artists' academy." 

(http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/medici/themes.html) 

       I cannot think of a better way to appreciate the art that blossomed out of Florence that through art itself. This poem by William Leighton puts to words that which is Florence.

 Through these  old streets i wander dreamily;

Around me Florence sweeps her busy tide

Of life; quaint palaces on every side

Here, where I pass, perchance in former day

Petrarch hath waled, composing poetry

To oft-sung charms of Laura. here hath hied

Dante, of Florence now the greatest pride,

But whom, in life, she fiercely drove away, 

To write in gloom his epic. Here, beneath

This loggia, Boccaccio hath told

His laughing tales, to comrades, merrily

What wondrous memories these scenes bequeath

What artist, sculptors, painters, here of old

Fashioned this lovely gem of Italy!

            -From Florentine Sonnets