City Breaks

Florence Episode 07 Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

Florence Episode 07 Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

The first Palazzo the Medici built themselves is plain outside, but fabulous inside - find out why and hear about some of the artwork inside.  And hear the history of the first few generations of this amazing family who ruled Florence for two centuries.

Florence Episode 06 Santa Maria Novella

Florence Episode 06 Santa Maria Novella

A brief history of Santa Maria Novella - including the exotic visitors who came to the Council of Florence and the arrival of Eleanor of Toledo - and then a description of the church as a thriving artistic community in medieval days, one which nurtured such talents as Cimabue, Giotto and Fra Lippi.

Florence Episode 05 Santa Croce

A tour of Santa Croce involves visiting some of Italy's most famous tombs (think Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo ...), remembering the devasting floods of 1966 and seeing the symbol of the city's recovery from flood damage in the shape of Cimabue's rescued-from-the-waters crucifix.

Florence Episode 04 Dante

Florence Episode 04 Dante. 

The story of Dante's life in Florence, plus some of his writing and tips on where to look for him in the city today.

Florence Episode 03 Around the duomo

Florence Episode 03  Around the duomo.  

A brief history of three buildings closely connected to the duomo, namely the baptistery, Giotto's  bell tower and the Cathedral Museum, along with pointers to the works of art to look out for in each.

Florence Episode 02 Inside the duomo

Florence Episode 02 Inside the duomo

Stories from inside Florence's cathedral: all about the painting 'Dante's Divine Comedy', how Brunelleschi designed the dome and why a murder was committed in front of the altar in 1478.

Florence Episode 01 Introduction

Introduction to Florence

Introduction: what City Breaks is ..... and isn't.

Introduction: what City Breaks is ..... and isn't.