Historic Cities · Italy
Florence through the ages
Florence is the capital and most populous city of the Italian region of Tuscany, and, as of 2026, with a population of 361,625, the 8th most populous city in the country. It is also the capital of the eponymous metropolitan province, which counts 988,494 inhabitants, while Eurostat estimates that 696,767 people live in the urban area of Florence.
Florence in 1300
Dante's Florence
Florence in 1300 is a thriving medieval republic on the edge of architectural transformation: the new cathedral has just begun beside the ancient Baptistery, Palazzo della Signoria rises as a civic palace, and a forest of private tower-houses crowns the dense roofscape. The walk moves from the hills into the gates, along the Arno with its wool workshops, through crowded markets, and past building sites where guildsmen, clerics and civic officials conduct the city’s daily business.
Low hills and fortified gates frame a compact city of warm terracotta roofs and rough stone towers; the Baptistery’s octagonal marble body gleams in green and white, while the new cathedral is an active construction site of scaffolds, piled ashlar and masons’ platforms. Palazzo della Signoria climbs in crenellated stone, narrow lanes funnel carts and foot traffic toward market squares, and the Arno’s riverbanks are lined with low timber workshops and drying cloths.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
Fiesole Hill View → Porta San Miniato → Borgo San Frediano → Lungarno Riverside → Ponte Vecchio → Piazza Santa Trinità → Ponte alla Carraia → Via dei Calzaiuoli → Mercato Vecchio → Via Calimala → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Fullers' Riverside Shed · Bridge Butchers' Stall · Covered Market Stall · Counting House · Mosaic Dome · Scaffolded Choir · Priors' Council Chamber · Tower Meeting Hall · Wool Guild Hall · Tower Solar Chamber · Santa Croce Nave · Dominican Choir · San Miniato Choir
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Florence.
Florence in 1490
Medici Florence
Florence in 1490 is at the height of Medici patronage and civic ambition: Brunelleschi's dome crowns a compact city of merchants, guilds and palazzi. The walk moves from the hills into fortified gates, through markets, riverfront workshops and Medici gardens, ending on the hill above the Arno where the city's stone and terracotta roofs gather beneath the dome.
A low, compact skyline of rusticated palazzi, church towers and the broad hemispherical dome of Santa Maria del Fiore dominates the city; walls and gates ring the dense medieval streets. Buildings are warm ashlar and pale plaster, roofs of red terracotta, narrow alleys opening to busy squares. The Arno cuts a reflective band across the town, its bridges crowded with timbered shops and goldsmiths' signs.
The walk — 23 streets, squares and views
Fiesole Overlook → Porta San Gallo → Convent of San Marco → Palazzo Medici → Medici Garden → Bottega of Botticelli → Piazza di San Lorenzo → Mercato Vecchio → Piazza della Signoria → Loggia della Signoria → …
Step inside — 14 interiors
Convent Scriptorium · Medici Courtyard · Medici Private Studiolo · Lorenzo's Sculpture Casino · Botticelli's Workshop · Old Sacristy (Sagrestia Vecchia) · Covered Market Hall · Council Hall of Palazzo Vecchio · Drum Gallery of the Dome · Mosaic Vault of the Baptistery · Upper Bell Chamber · Goldsmith's Shop on the Bridge · Riverside Forge · Sassetti Chapel
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Republic of Florence.
Florence in 1600
Grand-ducal Florence
Firenze in 1600 is the grand-ducal capital of Tuscany: a compact city of guilds, princely palaces and showy collections owned by the Medici. The walk moves from the surrounding hills into the market stalls, civic piazze and riverfront, across the Vasari corridor to the Pitti gardens and the sculptured terraces where courtly display and learned curiosity meet.
The skyline is ruled by Brunelleschi’s red-tiled dome and the crenellated tower of Palazzo Vecchio rising above low, ochre and terracotta roofs. Streets are narrow and paved with worn stone; façades alternate warm plaster and grey pietra serena detailing. The Arno cuts a soft ribbon through the city, spanned by compact stone bridges crowded with shops. Public space concentrates in open marble-dressed piazze dotted with loggias, statuary and merchants’ stalls.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
Fiesole Panorama → Porta San Gallo → Via San Gallo → Piazza Santa Maria Novella → Mercato Vecchio → Piazza del Duomo → Campanile di Giotto → Via dei Calzaiuoli → Piazza della Signoria → Loggia dei Lanzi → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Cloth Market Hall · Nave of Santa Maria del Fiore · Bell Chamber of Giotto's Campanile · Hall of the Five Hundred · Arcade of Civic Statues · Octagonal Tribuna · Vasari Elevated Gallery · Covered Goldsmiths' Shops · Grand Ducal Audience Chamber · Buontalenti Grotto Interior · Nave of Santo Spirito · Cortile of Palazzo Strozzi · Choir of San Miniato al Monte
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Florence.
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