Florence Tour
Oltrarano, Pitti Palace & Boboli Gardens

Duration: 3 hours.

Start point: Your hotel, 3pm

Walking level: Easy.

Included: professional city guide and entry tickets to Boboli Gardens

The river Arno cuts Florence in two parts, determining an area stretching beyond the river which, since medieval time, has been called Oltrarno. It is historically the most lively city district as for commerce and craft. In ancient time the whool market took place in the square of Santo Spirito, still a market place today, dominated by the elegant simplicity of the Church, last work by Brunelleschi.

To walk through Oltrarno means not only diving into the "true" life of the locals, but also a different way of exploring Florence. In fact your guide will show you some of the workshops where you will see artists at work, making jewels, marble mosaics, leather goods; just to mention the main ones.

The highligth of the day though will be the visit to Pitti Palace (the biggest city building) and its gardens: Boboli. The palace, bought by the Medici during the 15 hundreds, has been the residence of dukes and kings for over three centuries. Its wide scenografic facade gives just a slight idea of the marvellous rooms inside which host 8 museums: from the Palatine Gallery, (the feremost, with its 1500 paintings by Titian, Raphael, Caravaggio, Rubens, Van Dyck etc.) to the Period Costumes museum, to that of the Carriages...each of them is worth a visit!

The tour will end up in Boboli: once arena for Medici private enertainments, now the greatest city public garden in the Renaissance style. Not the least, the view offered here over the city is by itself worth the walk!