1 - Lorenzo the Magnificent on his white horseBehind him, Cosimo the Elder and a whole retinue of illustrious Florentines, notables and artists... It was the pre-eminent role of the Medici that Benozzo Gozzoli sumptuously depicted in his procession of the Magi.
Looking haughty, seemingly defying adversity, a naked young man prepares to topple the giant Goliath... This marble David, commissioned from Michelangelo in 1501 by the Florentine Republic, is sublimely installed in the Galleria dell'Accademia. It was originally intended to be placed in an apse in the cathedral, but the sculpture was too heavy and was finally placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio - the town hall - in 1504. To protect it from the ravages of time, the statue was moved in the mid-nineteenth century to a room in the museum, which can be used privately to better appreciate its plasticity.
This sensual body, photographed from every angle by millions of visitors, turned into statuettes, calendars, aprons and even "sexy trash" pants in souvenir shops, became the emblem of Florence. In an Italy then made up of multiple states, the hero symbolised the strength and freedom of the Republic of Florence, threatened by the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples and the Vatican. Shocked at first by this nudity, the Florentines accepted it with open arms. The Renaissance - a return to ancient culture - that had been flourishing here for nearly a century had opened their minds. The great families, merchants enriched by the wool trade and bankers who made their fortunes through loans, supported artists, painters, sculptors, poets... Everywhere in the palaces and public buildings, frescoes, paintings and objets d'art competed with each other.
In the blessed days of the Medicis
But Florence has much more to offer, not least a treasure hunt on the theme of the Medici, the enlightened family who, from Cosimo the Elder to Lorenzo the Magnificent, spread their art of living throughout Europe. Their palace, with its austere stone embossed façade, conceals an inner courtyard and a garden that can be used for receptions. Upstairs, the chapel houses a masterpiece by Benozzo Gozzoli, the Procession of the Magi, a series of frescoes that can also be admired by a select few. As Manuela Mascherini, a guide with Florence and Tuscany Tours, explains: "In Florence, many historic sites are open to the public.The cortile, the inner courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio decorated by Vasari, is often used for cocktail parties. Upstairs, the immense Salone dei Cinq-Cent, whose murals glorifying the Medici are by Vasari, is also regularly requested for meetings or conferences, as it is one of the largest rooms in the city. Elsewhere, the medieval courtyard of the Museo del Bargello, which houses Renaissance sculptures, can also be visited by small groups, as can the Brancacci chapel, with frescoes by Masaccio and Lippi, and the Santa Maria Novella pharmacy, where Catherine de Medici's ointments were made.".
On the way to the Palazzo Vecchio, make sure you stop off at the Duomo, the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, dominated by its Giotto-designed bell tower. The most sublime art is everywhere in the city, and while Florence opens up its exceptional culture to as many people as possible, it also knows how to reveal it sparingly. For example, right next to the Medici residence, the Uffizi Gallery can be visited by a small group when the doors are closed, giving the privileged few time to appreciate some of the 1,500 or so works on display. Among the outstanding paintings are none other than The Birth of Venus and Spring by Boticelli, The Annunciation by Leonardo da VinciThe Battle of San Romano Paolo Ucello, not to mention Giotto, Titian, Caravaggio, Raphael...
Away from the crowds
Vasari's corridor can also be explored by prior arrangement. This secret passageway linking Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti enabled the Medici to avoid mingling with the crowds and escape assassination attempts. Since the 17th century, it has been lined with self-portraits by the great masters, from Rembrandt to Mimmo Paladino and De Chirico. As the corridor spans the Ponte Vecchio and its jewellers' stalls, it is obviously not the best place to admire the bridge, which has remained virtually unchanged since the 14th century. To get the best view of the bridge, you should climb aboard the boats of the old renaioli, the gravel pickers, preferably at sunset. On the left bank of the Arno, the Palazzo Pitti, bought by the Medici family from the banker of the same name in 1549, houses six museums, including the Silver Museum and the Palatine Gallery. Both can be visited privately, before or after a stroll through the Boboli gardens.
Immensely cultivated, Tuscany also charms visitors with its hedonistic countryside, which can be explored by minibus or, more in keeping with local tastes, by Vespa, Fiat 500 or even a 1960s convertible. Twenty kilometres south of Florence, the village of Impruneta is a stronghold of potters who, using age-old skills, shape clay mixed with water to create basins that decorate many a garden. This was already the case during the Renaissance, when they were used to grow orange and lemon trees. Today, they continue to make planters and small decorative objects, which can be a welcome gift for a group.
From here, the roads are so winding that you have plenty of time to admire the Chianti landscapes between vineyards and forests. This gives you the opportunity to stop off in medieval villages where, behind their high walls, bell towers stand out. Inside, a maze of narrow streets protects you from the heat of the Tuscan summers and, at aperitif time, the pleasure of a "spritz" on the terrace, a cocktail made from sparkling water, prosecco and bitter.
A campaign for epicureans
Then it's back on to the road, stopping here and there at one farm or another to taste wines, olive oils and cheeses, and then at a family restaurant to learn about the region's specialities... Crostini, toasted bread with chicken liver, cinghiale, stewed wild boar, and fagioli, large white beans cooked in tomato sauce, are among the must-tries. All washed down with a red wine, Chianti Classico, or a white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
And while you're at it, why not take over an entire village in the middle of a vineyard? That's what the Borgo San Felice hotel offers, a timeless stopover before embarking on more cultural visits. The estate, surrounded by 140 hectares of vineyards, is in fact an amalgam of a medieval village with its period buildings, stone houses, chapel and picturesque alleyways, all restored some fifteen years ago and transformed into a Relais & Châteaux. Dario Iaquinto, the establishment's Sales Director, comments: "It's an ideal place to bring groups together. The layout of the site means that groups can be split between the old palace and the various houses. After a tour of the cellars, some will take part in a tasting of the estate's wines led by our oenologist Leonardo Bellacini, while others will play a game of pétanque at the back of the church or cycle through the countryside. We can also organise a banquet or an elegant evening for them."
From San Felice, head south along the ridge road that leads to the abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. On the hilltops, each fattoria, a typical farmhouse nestling against a grove of umbrella pines and fig trees, looks as if it has been designed by an artist. Sometimes a few acres are planted with vineyards and olive groves, sometimes meadows grazed by white sheep stand alongside fields of wheat. The backdrop is a constantly recurring postcard of narrow, stony lanes bordered by the slender, dark silhouettes of cypress trees. Finally we come to the convent where, in accordance with the rule of Saint Benedict, the Benedictine monks faithfully observe silence. Here, in complete peace and quiet, you can admire the superb frescoes in the cloister by Signorelli or Sodoma, depicting the life of the saint.
After these moments of gentle contemplation, it's time to move on to Siena, Florence's equal in artistic splendour. In the Palazzo Publico, in the shadow of the Torre del Mangia, one of the frescoes of the Effects of Good and Bad Governmentpainted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the mid-14th century, is an allegory of a happy province. In the foreground, young girls dance in the street; in the background, the pink architecture of the prosperous city and the serene countryside, a harmony of blue hills where peasants go about their work in the fields. This magnified vision of the life of yesteryear can be found today, almost identically, in the landscape stretching as far as the eye can see at the foot of the palace's great terrace. Luigina Benci, from the Terre di Siena tourist office, explains: "is a beautiful panorama that can be reserved exclusively for a cocktail group. But it's not the only place of its kind that the city has to offer. There is also a dedicated area in the former hospice of Santa Maria della Scala, a museum not to be missed, with frescoes by Vecchietta and Domenico di Bartolo recounting the construction of the building and the life of the patients.".
On the other side of the Palazzo Publico is the Campo, a fan-shaped square paved with brick. Every year, twice a summer, this is where the famous Palio takes place, a horse race that dates back more than three centuries, in which jockeys from ten districts - the contrade - drawn at random from the city's seventeen, compete in three laps of the square, riding bareback and perfectly entitled to play the nerf de boeuf on the other riders. The winning contrade then flies its banner over the Palazzo Publico.
To immerse yourself in the Sienese Renaissance, tour guide Luise Hoffmann suggests a walk that takes in the Antica Drogheria Manganelli, where the owner sells panforte, a local cake that is half nougat and half gingerbread. She invites you to take a look at the Cappella di Piazza, which backs onto the Torre del Mangia, the Palazzo Piccolomini, which once belonged to the family of Pope Pius II, and the Loggia della Mercanzia, before finishing at the Duomo, which she particularly loves: "This cathedral has marble mosaic floors that are unique in the world, depicting characters or events from the Bible. Also in the Duomo, the Piccolomini Library features remarkable frescoes by Pinturicchio illustrating the life of Pope Pius II.
On the way up from Siena to San Gimignano, the cypresses still accompany the traveller, planted like sentinels along the road. But as you approach the town, they are quickly surpassed by the fourteen towers that the wealthy citizens of San Gimignano once had erected to symbolise their power. The Collegiata - the cathedral - is an open book with frescoes recounting episodes from the Old Testament. On the painted walls of the Santa Fina chapel, Ghirlandaio, one of the noblest representatives of the Florentine school, recounted the life of the saint who died on the day the yellow wallflowers bloomed. Since then, they have become known as the "flowers of Santa Fina" and are displayed as a souvenir on the city walls. More prosaically, it gave its name to crema Santa Fina, a saffron and pine nut ice cream, a reminder that it was at the Medici court that gelati was invented. Ah! Italian ice cream...
