20 Attractions to Explore Near La Specola

The Boboli Gardens is a historic park in the city of Florence. Born as the Grand Ducal garden of Palazzo Pitti, it is also connected to the Forte di Belvedere, a military outpost for the safety of the sovereign and his family. The garden, which welcomes over 800,000 visitors every year, is one of the most important examples of an Italian garden in the world and is a real open-air museum, for its architectural-landscape setting and for the collection of sculptures.

Palazzo Pitti is an imposing Renaissance palace in Florence. It is located in the Oltrarno area, a short distance from Ponte Vecchio. The original core of the building dates back to 1458, as the urban residence of the banker Luca Pitti. The palace was then purchased by the Medici family in 1549 and became the main residence of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, first Medici and from 1737 Habsburg-Lorraine.

Piazza Santo Spirito is a square of the district Oltrarno in Florence. The square was formed in the thirteenth century, like other squares in front of important religious buildings, to accommodate the crowds who attended the prayers of the Augustinians, owners of the Basilica of Santo Spirito Frequent home to markets and flea markets, it is full of restaurants and nightclubs, craft shops and artists' studios.

The church of Santo Spirito is one of the main basilicas of the city of Florence. It is located in the Oltrarno district, the southern part of the historic center, and with its simple facade dominates the square of the same name. It was built on the remains of the thirteenth-century Augustinian convent destroyed by a fire in 1371. This church is nestled in a quiet little corner of Florence and it is very possible that you will pass in front of it several times before even really noticing its per

This beautiful Fountain of Neptune was located Right in the center of Florence's Piazza della Signoria, just under the Palazzo Vecchio. The fountain was commissioned to built in honor of the marriage of the second Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I De’ Medici to the Grand Duchess Johanna of Austria. The Fountain of Neptune in Florence represents several stories from both Greek and Roman mythology. It was one of the main attractions in this area.

The Brancacci Chapel, located inside the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, represents one of the highest examples of Renaissance painting. It is the result of the collaboration of two of the greatest artists of the time, Masaccio and Masolino da Panicale, to which the hand of Filippino Lippi must be added, called to complete the work about fifty years later. The church and the chapel are treated as separate places to visit and as such have different opening times.

The Forte Belvedere, a common name of the Santa Maria fortress in San Giorgio del Belvedere, is one of two fortresses of Florence, as well as a famous scenic spot and valuable architectural work of the city. Located at the highest point of the Boboli hill, it can be accessed from the San Giorgio coast, via Belvedere or via San Leonardo. Today the fort hosts summertime art exhibitions, which are well worth a peek if only to revel in the sweeping city panorama that can be had from the fort.

St Trinity Bridge is a road bridge, elliptical arch bridge, and masonry bridge that was built from 1566 until 1569. The project is located in Firenze, Florence. It was the oldest elliptic arch bridge in the world, characterized by three flattened ellipses. In addition to the graceful, flattened arches that span the river the bridge is also decorated with statues of the Four Seasons, which appear at each corner of the bridge. It was now one of the major attractions in this area.

The Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, was the only medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge across the Arno in Florence until 1218. The current bridge was rebuilt after a flood in 1345. During World War II it was the only bridge across the Arno that the fleeing Germans did not destroy. It is mostly full of tourists enjoying the view, musicians playing songs, artists making portraits and all sorts of entertainers can be found on this bridge.

Villa Bardini, formerly Villa Manadora, is located on the San Giorgio 2 coast in Florence. Today it is an exhibition center that hosts temporary exhibitions, the Capucci Museum and the Annigoni Museum. The garden of the villa is the spectacular Bardini garden, which can now be visited separately with the same ticket as the Boboli Gardens. Furthermore, there is the Bardinicontemporanea space always open with free admission, which offers exhibitions of contemporary art and visual art in combinatio

The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza Della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany. The Gallery entirely occupies the first and second floors of the large building constructed between 1560 and 1580 and designed by Giorgio Vasari. It is famous worldwide for its outstanding collections of ancient sculptures and paintings. It also has an invaluable collection of ancient statues and busts from the Medici family.

The Galileo Museum of Florence is located in Piazza dei Giudici, near the Uffizi Gallery, in the Palazzo Castellani, a building of ancient origins, known in Dante's time as Castello d'Altafronte. It preserves one of the most important collections of scientific instruments in the world, material testimony of the importance attributed to science and its protagonists by the exponents of the Medici dynasty and the Lorraine grand dukes.

The Giardino Bardini is a Renaissance garden in Florence. Only opened recently to the public, it is relatively little-known. Access is gained via the Via de' Bardi, just over the road from the Museo Bardini in the Oltrarno district of the city, although the gardens exit onto the Costa di San Giorgio, onto which the Forte di Belevedere and the Giardino di Boboli connect in turn.

Palazzo Strozzi in Florence is one of the most beautiful Italian Renaissance palaces. Of imposing size, it is located between the homonymous via Strozzi and Piazza Strozzi, and via Tornabuoni, with three grandiose identical portals on as many sides. A true masterpiece of Florentine Renaissance civil architecture, it was begun at the behest of Filippo Strozzi, a wealthy merchant belonging to one of the wealthiest families in Florence, traditionally hostile to the Medici faction.

The Loggia dei Lanzi is a beautiful arched gallery that was built in the 14th century at the Piazza della Signoria right in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. It consists of wide arches open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines that Michelangelo proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza della Signoria.

Piazza Della Signoria is the central square of Florence, the seat of civil power and the heart of the city's social life. L-shaped, it is located in the central part of medieval Florence, south of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. In the past, it has taken on various names, such as piazza Dei Priori or piazza del Granduca. It is the meeting place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists, located near Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo and gateway to Uffizi Gallery.

The Palazzo Vecchio is the main symbol of the civil power for the city of Florence, whose original project is attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio. Construction on the solid fortress began in 1299 above the ruins of the destroyed Uberti Ghibelline towers, the testimony of the final victory of the Guelph faction. From 1865 to 1871 it housed the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy, and since 1872 it has been the town hall.

This tall structure halfway down Via dei Calzaiuoli looks more like a Gothic warehouse than a church—which is exactly what it was, built as a granary/grain market in 1337. On the ground floor of the square building are the 13th-century arches that originally formed the loggia of the grain market. The second floor was devoted to offices, while the third housed one of the city's municipal grain storehouses, maintained to withstand famine or siege.

Piazza della Repubblica is one of the main squares in Florence and marks the center of the city since Roman times. During medieval times the area around the column was densely populated with markets, tabernacles and churches. The square's Giubbe Rosse cafe has long been a meeting place for famous artists and writers, notably those of Futurism.

The Bargello Museum is located in the impressive Palazzo del Bargello, a fortress with powerful embattlements which surround the austere facade. Begun in 1255, the building was the headquarters of the Capitano del Popolo and later of the Podestà and Council of Justice. In 1574, it became the living quarters for the Captain of Justice (chief of police) and was used as a prison.