Why Florence?
• It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, a worldwide famous open sky museum.
• Everything is at hand, small, clean and safe with a unique artistic and historical heritage.
• No restriction from any country to reach Italy, politically and economically stable, member of the European Community.
• Beautiful Mediterranean climate, good and healthy food, great shopping.
• Very easy to reach, in the middle of Italy.
The Town
Among the many art towns in Italy, Florence is proud of its rather unique features: its many palaces, monuments and masterpieces fit in such a narrow area that everything is really within walking distance. Mornings in Florence, that ravished Ruskin so much, reveal an unexpected bounty of beauty and charm at every corner.
The town is divided into two parts by the Arno River, flowing from the nearby high chain of the Casentino Mountains towards the coast, and yielding into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Marina di Pisa.
No matter how overpowering Florence’s historical past and open-air museums may be, its contemporary companies working in business, fashion, theatre and music make of it a bouyant center of cosmopolitan culture, endeavouring to complete and get over its fame as wonderful scenary so deeply cherished by tourists and visitors.
Art & Culture
The Renaissance added unparalleled splendor to the fascinating but rather severe looks of medieval Florence. The Medici family (1434-1737) ensured long periods of peace and prosperity. Bankers and merchants during the Renaissance transformed their medieval, towerlike houses into fashionable palaces and were generous patrons to religious painters, sculptors and architects. As a result, arts and architecture flourished in an unprecedented development, masterpieces of which may still be enjoyed today. The completion of the Cathedral, with its gigantic dome built by Brunelleschi, and of the medieval Saint John’s Baptistery with its famous golden doors by Ghilberti are among the many conspicuous remains of that period. Palazzo Vecchio, facing Piazza della Signoria, has been the center of the Florentine political life for many centuries. A few meters away the beautiful Palazzo degli Uffizi, where we still can admire the countless masterworks of Giotto, Paolo Uccello, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello, Tiziano, Caravaggioas as well as Van Dyck, Rubens and Rembrandt. After crossing the river on the Ponte Vecchio, with its characteristic historical goldsmith shops, visitors may reach the Oltrarno district with the famous church of Santo Spirito, San Frediano in Cestello and Santa Maria del Carmine.
All these treasures are near the convention venue and can be easily reached in short, but exciting,walks.
Food
Typical, regional and Italian food is served everywhere in Florence.
Tuscan cuisine is not too rich, and its true character is given by high-quality ingredients, the flavour of which is enhanced by simple but tasty recipes. Grilled meat from Chianti, fish from the Tyrrhenian Sea, vegetables, cheese and salamis from the countryside are the basis of the traditional Florentine meals.
You can find excellent pizzerias, bars and coffee shops offering tasty sandwiches as well as first and second courses.
Chianti wine is excellent and wine shops offer to connoisseurs exciting products with a constantly improved quality standard.
Definitely, we must recommend the pleasures of outdoors dining offered by most restaurants, quite often within the extraordinary scenery of beautiful squares, palaces or monuments.
Shopping
Florence is a favourite display place for many famous fashion brands and all the most celebrated international fashion designers have set up their shops in Via Tornabuoni, Via della Vigna Nuova or Via Calzaioli.
You can find Roberto Cavalli, Emilio Pucci, Prada, Enrico Coveri, Ferragamo, as well as Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, and many others.
Gucci, Prada, Dolce e Gabbana, Fendi also have their factory outlets in the Florentine area. These can be reached by car or even by coach thanks to the many half day tours organized to visit them.
Furthemore, handcraft shops offer a wide selection of high quality, never deceptive goods: special hand-milled paper, ceramics, perfumes and toiletry goods, leather clothes, silverware and jewelry and, last but not least, very precious antiques.