1.
Metropolitan cities of Italy
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The metropolitan city is an administrative division of Italy, operative since 2015. In 2009, amendments added Reggio Calabria to the list, the metropolitan areas individuated by the autonomous regions were, Trieste in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Cagliari in Sardinia, Catania, Messina and Palermo in Sicily. On 3 April 2014 the Italian Parliament approved a law that establishes 10 metropolitan cities in Italy, the new metropolitan cities have been operative since 1 January 2015. The metropolitan city is composed by the municipalities that before had been members of the same province, each metropolitan city is headed by a metropolitan mayor assisted by a legislative body, the Metropolitan council, and by a non-legislative assembly, the metropolitan conference. Members of the Metropolitan council are elected and chosen by mayors and city councilors of each municipality in the metropolitan city, the metropolitan conference is composed by the mayors of the municipalities closest to the capital. The main functions devolved to the new cities are, local planning and zoning, provision of local police services, transport. Regions of Italy Provinces of Italy Municipalities of Italy Media related to Metropolitan cities of Italy at Wikimedia Commons
2.
Palazzo Medici Riccardi
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The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence, the palace was designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo de Medici, head of the Medici banking family, and was built between 1444 and 1484. It was well known for its masonry, which includes architectural elements of rustication. The tripartite elevation used here expresses the Renaissance spirit of rationality, order and this tripartite division is emphasized by horizontal stringcourses that divide the building into stories of decreasing height. Michelozzo di Bartolomeo was influenced in his building of this palace by both classical Roman and Brunelleschian principles, during the Renaissance revival of classical culture, ancient Roman elements were often replicated in architecture, both built and imagined in paintings. In the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the masonry and the cornice had precedents in Roman practice, yet in totality it looks distinctly Florentine. Similarly, the early Renaissance architect Brunelleschi used Roman techniques and influenced Michelozzo, the open colonnaded court that is the center of the palazzo plan has roots in the cloisters that developed from Roman peristyles. The once open corner loggia and shop facing the street were walled in during the 16th century. The new windows are set into what appears to be an infill of the original arched opening. The building reflects the wealth of the Medici family. Then a garden done in the finest of polished marbles, with diverse plants, Cosimo received the young Sforza in the chapel not less ornate and handsome than the rest of the house. Other decorations included two lunettes by Filippo Lippi, depicting Seven Saints and the Annunciation, now at the National Gallery, when the Medici family returned to Florence after their short exile in the early 16th century, they kept a low profile and exercised their power behind the scenes. This is reflected in the exterior of this building, and is said to be the reason why Cosimo de Medici rejected Brunelleschis earlier proposal. The palace was the site of the wedding reception between Ferdinando de Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany and Violante Beatrice of Bavaria in 1689
3.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
4.
Tuscany
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Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy, Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is considered a nation within a nation. Tuscany is traditionally a popular destination in Italy, and the main tourist destinations by number of tourist arrivals are Florence, Pisa, Montecatini Terme, Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto. The village of Castiglione della Pescaia is also the most visited destination in the region. Additionally, Siena, Lucca, the Chianti region, Versilia and Val dOrcia are also internationally renowned, Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. In 2012, the city of Florence was the worlds 89th most visited city, roughly triangular in shape, Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria to the northwest, Emilia-Romagna to the north and east, Umbria to the east and Lazio to the southeast. The comune of Badia Tedalda, in the Tuscan Province of Arezzo, has an exclave named Ca Raffaello within Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany has a western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, containing the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the largest island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres, surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for agriculture. Hills make up nearly two-thirds of the total area, covering 15,292 square kilometres, and mountains. Plains occupy 8. 4% of the total area—1,930 square kilometres —mostly around the valley of the River Arno, many of Tuscanys largest cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital Florence, Empoli and Pisa. The pre-Etruscan history of the area in the late Bronze and Iron Ages parallels that of the early Greeks, following this, the Villanovan culture saw Tuscany, and the rest of Etruria, taken over by chiefdoms. City-states developed in the late Villanovan before Orientalization occurred and the Etruscan civilization rose, the Etruscans created the first major civilization in this region, large enough to establish a transport infrastructure, to implement agriculture and mining and to produce vibrant art. The Etruscans lived in Etruria well into prehistory, throughout their existence, they lost territory to Magna Graecia, Carthage and Celts. Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks, the cultures of Greece, one reason for its eventual demise was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans. Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of Lucca, Pisa, Siena, and Florence, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace. These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, however, many of these structures have been destroyed by erosion due to weather. The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the 5th century AD, in the years following 572, the Longobards arrived and designated Lucca the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia
5.
Florence
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Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
6.
Democratic Party (Italy)
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The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy. The partys acting leader is Matteo Orfini, who replaced Matteo Renzi after his resignation in February 2017, in April–May the party will hold a leadership election and Renzi is again running for secretary. The PD was founded on 14 October 2007 upon the merger of various centre-left parties which had part of The Olive Tree list. The PDs main ideological trends are thus social democracy and the Italian Christian leftist tradition, the party has been also influenced by social liberalism, which was already present in some of the founding components of the DS and DL, and more generally by a Third Way progressivism. Following the 2013 general election and the 2014 European Parliament election, the PD was the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the European Parliament. From 2013 the Italian government has been led by three successive Democratic Prime Ministers, Enrico Letta, Matteo Renzi, and Paolo Gentiloni. As of 2017, other than the government, Democrats head fourteen regional governments out of twenty and function as coalition partner in Tuscany. Former bigwigs include Giorgio Napolitano, Sergio Mattarella, Romano Prodi, Giuliano Amato, Massimo DAlema, Pier Luigi Bersani, Francesco Rutelli, the coalition, in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party, won the 1996 general election and Prodi became Prime Minister. In February 1998 the PDS merged with minor parties to become the Democrats of the Left, while in March 2002 the PPI, RI. In the summer of 2003 Prodi suggested that the forces would participate in the 2004 European Parliament election with a common list. Whereas the Union of Democrats for Europe and the far-left parties refused, four parties accepted, the DS, DL, the Italian Democratic Socialists and the European Republicans Movement. They launched a joint list named United in the Olive Tree, the project was later abandoned in 2005 by the SDI. In the 2006 general election the list obtained 31. 3% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies, eight parties agreed to merge into the PD, Democrats of the Left Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Southern Democratic Party, Sardinia Project, European Republicans Movement, Democratic Republicans, Middle Italy, while the DL agreed to the merger with virtually no resistance, the DS experienced a more heated final congress. On 19 April 2007 approximately 75% of party members voted in support of the merger of the DS into the PD, the left-wing opposition, led by Fabio Mussi, obtained just 15% of the support within the party. A third motion, presented by Gavino Angius and supportive of the PD only within the Party of European Socialists, during and following the congress, both Mussi and Angius announced their intention not to join the PD and founded a new party called Democratic Left. On 22 May 2007 the composition of the committee of the nascent party was announced. On 18 June the committee met to decide the rules for the election of the 2,400 members of the partys constituent assembly
7.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
8.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
9.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
10.
Vehicle registration plates of Italy
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Present Italian car number plates have black characters on a rectangular white background, with small blue side-fields on the right and left. The current numbering scheme, in use from 1994, is unrelated to the provenance of the car. Italian plates are printed by the state and they had to have the owners name and the local communal number that had to be visible. These early Italian number plates gave the name of the place of origin, followed by a number, as GENOVA83. These were first plates to be made of metal and had to be done by the cars owner. Today, the registration number was a numeric code, different for each province, and a progressive number on a sigle line, unique for that province. E. g.63 –2993, where 63 is the code for Turin, from 1927 to 1932, the progressive code was before the provincial designator on a single line. Then, the code was before the provincial designator in front plates and after it in rear plates. From 1932 to 1951, Rear plate was square 32.0 x 22.0 cm, Rear plate had from 1928 to 1944, the Fasces emblem next to the provincial code. After Mussolinis fall, in 1944 to 1948 the Association of War Maimed and Disabled printed the number plates, after 1948 the Italian Republic Constitution was approved, so the Republic emblem appeared on the number plate on both rear and front plates. From 1951 to 1976, Rear plate was square 27.5 ×20 cm, note that single line rear registration plates were not available until 1976. The registration number was the provincial designator, which is a code. For cars from 1000000, it was A00000-A99999, B00000-B99999 etc, possible letters were, in this order, A B D E F G H K L M N P R S T U V Z X Y W. After that, it was 00000A-99999A, 00000D-99999D etc. Possible letters were, in order, A D E F G H L M N P R S T V W X Y Z, then, the letter was moved to the second position. Schematic representation, Front plate was identical as in the period 1927-1976, Rear plate, instead, was changed in three pieces. One, size 10,7 ×33 cm, black with digits, contains the progressive number and, very small. The other two were black with letters, and contained the provincial designator. In 1985, plates become black digits with white reflective background, Rear plate was identical as in the period 1976-1985
11.
National Institute of Statistics (Italy)
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The Italian National Institute of Statistics is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic and environmental surveys, Istat is by far the largest producer of statistical information in Italy, and is an active member of the European Statistical System, coordinated by Eurostat. Its publications are released under creative commons Attribution license, Istat was created in 1926 as Central Institute of Statistics, to collect and organize essential data about the nation. It took its current denomination with the reform of 1989, since 4 August 2009, Enrico Giovannini, former Chief statistician of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has been the President of the institute. In 2014, Istat was named the winner of that years Ig Nobel Prize for Economics after it began including estimates of illegal transactions in the size of the countrys economy. The center in Rome also offers data from Eurostat, the library collection includes 400,000 volumes and receives about 2800 periodical journals. There are also 1500 volumes printed prior to 1900
12.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
13.
Province of Ravenna
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The province of Ravenna is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna, as of 2015, it has a population of 391,997 inhabitants over an area of 1,859.44 square kilometres, giving it a population density of 210.81 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its provincial president is Claudio Casadio, Ravenna was first inhabited by Italic tribes from northern regions, and was conquered in 191 BCE by the Roman Republic. A port was constructed near Classe, and the Adriatic fleet was based in Ravenna, in 402 CE, Ravenna became the capital of the Western Roman Empire, which endured until the collapse of the empire and the fall of Rome in 476. Following this, the Barbarian Kings Odoacer and then Theodoric controlled Ravenna until it was conquered by the Byzantine Empire in 540, the Byzantines announced it to be their Exarchate. It continued to be under Byzantine rule until it was invaded by the Lombards in 751 and it was placed under papal rule by Pippin the Younger in 756 or 757. Ravenna was subsequently ruled by the Holy See until it was given independence in the 12th century, the papacy gained control again in 1278 and was led by papal vicars until it was invaded by Venice in 1441. The War of the League of Cambrai took place near Ravenna in 1512, in which the forces were defeated. It remained under the rule of the Holy See until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy, in 1921, uprisings in Ravenna triggered a rapid advance of the Fascist movement in the region. This was a moment in the advance of Fascism in northern Italy. The province of Ravenna is one of nine provinces in the region of Emilia-Romagna in the northeast of Italy and it is on the east of the region and abuts onto the Adriatic Sea. The Province of Ferrara lies immediately to the north and the Province of Bologna is to the west, the Province of Florence in the region of Tuscany lies to the southwest, and the Province of Forlì-Cesena to the south. The provincial capital is the city of Ravenna, which is situated a few miles inland and is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal
14.
Province of Modena
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The Province of Modena is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Modena and it has an area of 2,689 square kilometres and a total population of about 701,000. There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Modena, the largest after Modena are Carpi, Sassuolo, Formigine and Castelfranco Emilia
15.
Province of Pisa
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The Province of Pisa is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Pisa, with an area of 2,448 square kilometres and a total population of 421,642, it is the second most populous and fifth largest province of Tuscany. It is subdivided into 37 comuni, with a history dating back to the Etruscans and Phoenicians, the province achieved considerable power and influence in the Mediterranean in the 12th and 13th centuries. Pisa, the capital, is well known for its Leaning Tower which attracts tourists to the area with many historic landmarks. The area has a maritime history dating back to the Etruscans, the Phoenicians. Thanks to its river system, with the fall of the Roman Empire. In 828, it launched an expedition against the north African coast while in 871, in the 11th century, Pisa became a republic, reaching its zenith in the 12th and 13th centuries when its navy controlled the western Mediterranean. As a Maritime Republic, its power extended well beyond the Italian peninsula, after first being an ally then a rival of the Republic of Genoa, it suffered defeat at the battle of Battle of Meloria in 1284. As a result, it began to decline and in 1406 was annexed to Florence becoming part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the 16th century, in the 20th century, Pisa was hit hard by allied bombing and Nazi reprisals. The current province stems from its place in the Grand Duchy while its territories were those which had part of the former Maritime Republic of Pisa. In 1938, the comune of Castellina Marittima bought a small slice of the territory of the municipality of Cecina, part of the province of Livorno, which was attributed to an administrative error. Pisa Province extends from the plain of the Arno River, in western Tuscany. The most populous cities in the province as of 2013 are Pisa, Cascina, San Giuliano Terme, Pontedera, San Miniato, Ponsacco. The northern area is mountainous, containing the Apennine mountain range of Mount Pisano, adjacent to the offshoot of the Apuan Alps. The highest point of Monte Pisano range and of the province is at Monte Serra, the area of Pisa is flat, but, a few miles further south, in the southern part of the province, is classic Tuscan landscape consisting of hills, forests and ancient villages. Of particular note in the south is the Val di Cecina, the valley of the Cecina River, the southern area of the province is hilly, containing the peak of Monte Aia dei Diavoli. Statistics recorded since 1861 show that the population of the province has increased gradually from 240,000 is the 1860s to c.390,000 in the 1990s, since the new millennium, it has increased by some 30,000 to over 420,000 today. This is the complete list of comuni in the province of Pisa, The Province of Pisa has a variety of companies and organisations in the public
16.
Province of Lucca
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The Province of Lucca is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca and it has an area of 1,773 square kilometres and a total population of about 400,000. There are 33 comuni in the province, to the north it abuts the region of Emilia-Romagna. Access to the Tyrrhenian Sea is through such as Torre del Lago, Viareggio. It is divided into four areas, Piana di Lucca, Versilia, Media Valle del Serchio, Versilia is known for its extensive beaches, and there are coastal dunes in the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Natural Park. The principal resorts of the province are located at Viareggio, Lido di Camaiore, Pietrasanta, Garfagnana is known for its wooded hills and olive trees. Lago di Massaciuccoli is a lake with an area of 6.9 square kilometres, located mainly in the municipality of Massarosa and partly in Torre del Lago. The lake was known in ancient times as the Fossis Papirianis, the composer Giacomo Puccini lived nearby and frequently hunted around the lake, today the Puccini Festival is held there annually in celebration. Situated along the Via Francigena, a major Medieval pilgrimage route, Lucca Cathedral, also known as the Duomo of San Martino, was originally built in the 6th century, but was rebuilt in the 11th century in the Romanesque style, consecrated by Alexander II in 1070. It was restored again with Tuscan Gothic influences in the 14th century, the Church of San Frediano, also in the city Lucca, is reputed to be only example of Lombard architecture preserved without notable alteration, although the façade dates to about 1200. The church contains some pieces of art, as does the Mansi Palace and the 14th-century Church of San Francesco. The Case Guinigi and the Guinigi Tower of Lucca is an example of remaining medieval architecture in the province. Paolo Guinigi was a ruler of the town a little later in the early 15th century,44.25 metres high, it was built with sandstone and brick from Matraia and Verrucano from the Monti Pisani. Only one of the towers remains, and loggia and the porch on the ground floor of it have been shut off. Also of note is an Aqueduct of Nottolini consisting of 459 arches, constructed between 1823 and 1832
17.
Province of Siena
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The Province of Siena is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena, to the west are the Colline Metallifere, whilst the Val di Chiana lies to east. Historically, the province corresponds to the former Republic of Siena, the chief occupations are agricultural and silk culture. The wine known as Chianti is produced here as well as in parts of Tuscany. Apart from the city of Siena the principal towns are Poggibonsi, Colle di Val dElsa, Montepulciano, Chiusi, there are 36 comuni in the province
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Province of Arezzo
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The province of Arezzo or Arretium is the easternmost province in the Tuscany region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Arezzo, the province is bordered by the regions of Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, and the provinces Siena and Florence of Tuscany. It has an area of 3,235 square kilometres, a population of about 347,000 in 37 comuni. The north of the province of Arezzo contains the Pratomagno and Casentino mountain ranges and valleys, and it is believed that the province was a major Etruscan urban centre known as Arretium, and a wall was built around the province in this period of rule. In Roman times, the settlement expanded down from the hills, after attacks from barbarians, the settlement mostly disappeared in around 400 AD. Towards the end of the 11th century, the settlement grew again into a city and its location led to its ownership changing repeatedly, Florence owned the province after the Battle of Campaldino, later lost authority over it, and then annexed it again in 1384. Florence possessed the province until 1859 when Italy was unified, the province is in close proximity to Camaldoli, where the Camaldolese monks originate from. The main comuni by population are, Province homepage
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Arno
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The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber, the river originates on Mount Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a southward curve. The river turns to the west near Arezzo passing through Florence, Empoli and Pisa, with a length of 241 kilometres, it is the largest river in the region. It has many tributaries, Sieve at 60 kilometres long, Bisenzio at 49 kilometres, and the Era, Elsa, Pesa, the Val di Chiana, a plain drained in the 18th century, which until then had been a marshy area tributary of the Tiber. The upper Valdarno, a valley bordered on the east by the Pratomagno massif. The Sieves basin, which flows into the Arno immediately before Florence, the middle Valdarno, with the plain including Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Prato, and Pistoia. The lower Valdarno, with the valley of important tributaries such as the Pesa, Elsa, and Era and in which, after Pontedera, the Arno flows into the Ligurian Sea. The river has a variable discharge, ranging from about 6 cubic metres per second to more than 2,000 cubic metres per second. The mouth of the river was once near Pisa but is now several kilometres westwards and it crosses Florence, where it passes below the Ponte Vecchio and the Santa Trìnita bridge. The flow rate of the Arno is irregular and it is sometimes described as having a torrentlike behaviour, because it can easily go from almost dry to near flood in a few days. At the point where the Arno leaves the Apennines, flow measurements can vary between 0.56 and 3,540 cubic metres per second, new dams built upstream of Florence have greatly alleviated the problem in recent years. The flood on November 4,1966, collapsed the embankment in Florence, killing at least 40 people and damaging or destroying millions of works of art, new conservation techniques were inspired by the disaster, but even decades later hundreds of works still await restoration. The philologist Hans Krahe related this toponym on a paleo-European basis *Ar-n-, derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *er-, flow, move
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Apennine Mountains
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The Apennines or Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km along the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare, in the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. The system forms an arc enclosing the east side of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas, the name originally applied to the north Apennines. However, historical linguists have never found a derivation with which they are universally comfortable, wilhelm Deecke said. its etymology is doubtful but some derive it from the Ligurian-Celtish Pen or Ben, which means mountain peak. The mountains lend their name to the Apennine peninsula, which forms the part of Italy. They are mostly verdant, although one side of the highest peak, Corno Grande is partially covered by Calderone glacier and it has been receding since 1794. The eastern slopes down to the Adriatic Sea are steep, while the western slopes form foothills on which most of peninsular Italys cities are located. The mountains tend to be named from the province or provinces in which they are located, for example, as the provincial borders have not always been stable, this practice has resulted in some confusion about exactly where the montane borders are. Often but not always a feature can be found that lends itself to being a border. The Apennines are divided into three sectors, northern, central, and southern, a number of long hiking trails wind through the Apennines. Of note is European walking route E1 coming from northern Europe and traversing the lengths of the northern, the Grand Italian Trail begins in Trieste and after winding through the Alpine arc traverses the entire Apennine system, Sicily and Sardinia. The northern Apennines consist of three sub-chains, the Ligurian, Tuscan-Emilian, and Umbrian Apennines, the Ligurian Apennines border the Ligurian Sea in the Gulf of Genoa, from about Savona below the upper Bormida River valley to about La Spezia below the upper Magra River valley. The range follows the Gulf of Genoa separating it from the upper Po Valley, the northwestern border follows the line of the Bormida River to Acqui Terme. There the river continues northeast to Alessandria in the Po Valley, the upper Bormida can be reached by a number of roads proceeding inland at a right angle to the coast southwest of Savona, the chief one being the Autostrada Torino-Savona. They ascend to the Bocchetta di Altare, sometimes called Colle di Cadibona,436 m, a bronze plaque fixed to a stone marks the top of the pass. In the vicinity are fragments of the old road and three ruins of former fortifications, at Carcare, the main roads connect with the upper Bormida valley before turning west. The Scrivia, the Trebbia and the Taro, tributaries of the Po River, the range contains dozens of peaks. Toward the southern end the Aveto Natural Regional Park includes Monte Penna, nearby is the highest point of Ligurian Apennines, Monte Maggiorasca at 1,780 m
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Leonardo da Vinci
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He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank, many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the Universal Genius or Renaissance Man, an individual of unquenchable curiosity and feverishly inventive imagination. Much of his working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded to him by Francis I of France, Leonardo was, and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait, Leonardos drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro coin, textbooks, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings have survived, Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated power, an adding machine. Some of his inventions, however, such as an automated bobbin winder. A number of Leonardos most practical inventions are nowadays displayed as working models at the Museum of Vinci. He made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, geology, optics, and hydrodynamics, today, Leonardo is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived. Leonardo was born on 15 April 1452 at the hour of the night in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci. He was the son of the wealthy Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine legal notary, and Caterina. Leonardo had no surname in the modern sense – da Vinci simply meaning of Vinci, his birth name was Lionardo di ser Piero da Vinci, meaning Leonardo. The inclusion of the title ser indicated that Leonardos father was a gentleman, little is known about Leonardos early life. He spent his first five years in the hamlet of Anchiano in the home of his mother and his father had married a sixteen-year-old girl named Albiera Amadori, who loved Leonardo but died young in 1465 without children. When Leonardo was sixteen, his father married again to twenty-year-old Francesca Lanfredini, pieros legitimate heirs were born from his third wife Margherita di Guglielmo and his fourth and final wife, Lucrezia Cortigiani. Leonardo received an education in Latin, geometry and mathematics. In later life, Leonardo recorded only two childhood incidents, one, which he regarded as an omen, was when a kite dropped from the sky and hovered over his cradle, its tail feathers brushing his face
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Anchiano
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Anchiano is a village in the comune of Vinci, Tuscany, central Italy. The village is known for the ancient Villa del Ferrale, with its chapel, Leonardo da Vinci was born in a farmhouse near Anchiano on 15 April 1452. His full name was Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, which means Leonardo, son of Piero, Anchiano is a hamlet near Vinci, in the hills of Tuscany in the province of Florence. The house where Leonardo da Vinci was born is situated between Anchiano and Faltognano, about 3 km from Vinci, Leonardo da Vincis birthplace Villa del Ferrale, official website 43°47′N 10°56′E
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UNESCO
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
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World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
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Giotto's Campanile
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Giotto’s Campanile is a free-standing campanile that is part of the complex of buildings that make up Florence Cathedral on the Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy. The slender structure is square in plan with 14.45 metre sides and it is 84.7 metres tall and has polygonal buttresses at each corner. The tower is divided into five stages, at that time he was 67 years old. Giotto concentrated his energy on the design and construction of a campanile for the cathedral and he had become an eminent architect, thanks to the growing autonomy of the architect-designer in relation to the craftsmen since the first half of the 13th century. The first stone was laid on 19 July 1334 and his design was in harmony with the polychromy of the cathedral, as applied by Arnolfo di Cambio, giving the tower a view as if it were “painted”. In his design he also applied chiaroscuro and some form of perspective instead of a strict linear drawing of the campanile, and instead of a filigree skeleton of a gothic building, he applied a surface of coloured marble in geometric patterns. When he died in 1337, he had finished the lower floor with its marble external revetment, geometric patterns of white marble from Carrara, green marble from Prato. This lower floor is decorated on three sides with bas-reliefs in hexagonal panels, seven on each side. When the entrance door was enlarged in 1348, two panels were moved to the empty northern side and only later, five more panels were commissioned from Luca della Robbia in 1437. The number “seven” has a meaning in Biblical sense, it symbolizes human perfectibility. It is difficult to attribute artistic paternity to these panels, some may be by Giotto himself, through this work, Giotto has become, together with Brunelleschi and Alberti, one of the founding fathers of Italian Renaissance architecture. Giotto was succeeded as Master of the Works in 1343 by Andrea Pisano and he continued the construction of the bell tower, scrupulously following Giotto’s design. He added, above the level of Giotto, a second fascia. He built two levels, with four niches on each side and each level, but the second row of niches are empty. Construction came to a halt in 1348, year of the disastrous Black Death, Pisano was replaced in his turn by Francesco Talenti who built the top three levels, with the large windows, completing the bell tower in 1359. He did not build the spire designed by Giotto, thus lowering the height of 122 metres to 84.7 metres. The top, with its breathtaking panorama of Florence and the surrounding hills, all the present works of art in the campanile are copies. The originals were removed between 1965 and 1967 and are now on display in the Museo dellOpera del Duomo, behind the cathedral and this series continues on the south side and the east side of the campanile
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Loggia del Bigallo
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The Loggia del Bigallo is a late Gothic building in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. It stands at the corner of Piazza San Giovanni and via Calzaioli and this building is one of a dozen public loggias in the city, and is linked with two fraternities or companies dealing with local charity. The Compagnia della Misericordia, or Company of Mercy, was concerned with the transport of the sick, burial of the indigent dead, as well as the care of orphans. This group focused on the housing of the indigent, and also cared for pilgrims and travellers at their Ospedale di Santa Maria alle Fonti, nicknamed del Bigallo, at Fonteviva. Financial irregularities forced the authorities in 1425, under Cosimo I deMedici, treasurer of the Bigallo, going forward, the function of the Bigallo predominated over that of the Misericordia. However, the Compagnia della Misericordia had commissioned the structure we see, probably from the architect-sculptor Alberto Arnoldi, the second story was rebuilt after a fire in 1442. Its two arched bays are richly applied with bas-reliefs of prophets, angels, the Virtues, a Christ giving the benediction and an Ecce Homo. In 1697, the arches were immured in order to more space for the oratory that is attached to the loggia. The mid-14th century statues were installed here when the two joined in 1425. The interior contains a museum of objects related to the Compagnia del Bigallo, touring Club Italiano, Firenze e dintorni, 109f
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Florence Cathedral
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The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is the main church of Florence, Italy. The exterior of the basilica is faced with marble panels in various shades of green. The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and these three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting Tuscany. The basilica is one of Italys largest churches, and until development of new materials in the modern era. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed, the cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, whose archbishop is currently Giuseppe Betori. Santa Maria del Fiore was built on the site of a cathedral dedicated to Saint Reparata. The new church was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio and approved by city council in 1294, di Cambio was also architect of the church of Santa Croce and the Palazzo Vecchio. He designed three wide naves ending under the dome, with the middle nave covering the area of Santa Reparata. The first stone was laid on September 9,1296, by Cardinal Valeriana, the building of this vast project was to last 140 years, Arnolfos plan for the eastern end, although maintained in concept, was greatly expanded in size. After Arnolfo died in 1310, work on the cathedral slowed for thirty years, when the relics of Saint Zenobius were discovered in 1330 in Santa Reparata, the project gained a new impetus. In 1331, the Arte della Lana, the guild of merchants, took over patronage for the construction of the cathedral. Assisted by Andrea Pisano, Giotto continued di Cambios design and his major accomplishment was the building of the campanile. When Giotto died in 1337, Andrea Pisano continued the building work was halted due to the Black Death in 1348. In 1359, Talenti was succeeded by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini who divided the nave in four square bays. Other architects were Alberto Arnoldi, Giovanni dAmbrogio, Neri di Fioravante, by 1375, the old church Santa Reparata was pulled down. The nave was finished by 1380, and by 1418, only the dome remained incomplete, on 18 August 1418, the Arte della Lana announced an architectural design competition for erecting Neris dome. The two main competitors were two master goldsmiths, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, the latter of whom was supported by Cosimo de Medici. Ghiberti had been the winner of a competition for a pair of doors for the Baptistery in 1401
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Ponte Vecchio
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The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops, the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers, the Ponte Vecchios two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte alle Grazie. The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, the Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. The bridge first appears in a document of 996, after being destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333 save two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. Modern historians present Neri di Fioravanti as a possible candidate, the Torre dei Mannelli was built at the southeast corner of the bridge to defend it. The bridge consists of three arches, the main arch has a span of 30 meters the two side arches each span 27 meters. The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 meters, and the span-to-rise ratio 5,1 and it has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization of the Bargello. The back shops that may be seen from upriver, were added in the seventeenth century, not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything. During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat on the advance of the liberating British 8th Army on August 4,1944 and this was allegedly, according to many locals and tour guides, because of an express order by Hitler. Access to Ponte Vecchio was, however, obstructed by the destruction of the buildings at both ends, which have since been using a combination of original and modern design. In order to connect the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti, to enforce the prestige of the bridge, in 1593 the Medici Grand Dukes prohibited butchers from selling there, their place was immediately taken by several gold merchants. The corporative association of butchers had monopolised the shops on the bridge since 1442, along the Ponte Vecchio, there can be seen many padlocks affixed in various places, especially to the railing around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini. This is a recent tradition for the Ponte Vecchio, although it has been practiced in Russia and it was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to idea of love and lovers, by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, there is a similar ongoing padlock phenomenon at Ponte Milvio, due to one of Federico Moccias books. The bridge was damaged in the 1966 flood of the Arno. The bridge is mentioned in the aria O mio babbino caro by Giacomo Puccini, Vasari Corridor Krämerbrücke Pulteney Bridge Flanigan, Theresa, The Ponte Vecchio and the Art of Urban Planning in Late Medieval Florence, Gesta 47, 1-15
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Barberino di Mugello
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Barberino di Mugello is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 25 kilometres north of Florence. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 10,114, the municipality of Barberino di Mugello contains the frazioni of Cavallina, Galliano, Montecarelli, and Latera. Barberino di Mugello borders the municipalities, Calenzano, Cantagallo, Castiglione dei Pepoli, Firenzuola, San Piero a Sieve, Scarperia, Vaiano. Laurenzana, Italy Media related to Barberino di Mugello at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Certosa del Galluzzo
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Florence Charterhouse is a charterhouse, or Carthusian monastery, located in the Florence suburb of Galluzzo, in central Italy. The building is a complex located on Monte Acuto, at the point of confluence of the Ema. In 1958 the monastery was taken over by Cistercian monks, the chapter house now holds lunettes from the cloister, frescoed by Pontormo, damaged by exposure to the elements. The charterhouse inspired Le Corbusier for his urban projects, the monastery houses the Società Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino, an Italian non-profit cultural institute
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Pontormo
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Jacopo Carucci, usually known as Jacopo da Pontormo, Jacopo Pontormo or simply Pontormo, was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a stylistic shift from the calm perspectival regularity that characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. He is famous for his use of twining poses, coupled with ambiguous perspective, his figures seem to float in an uncertain environment. Jacopo Carucci was born at Pontorme, near Empoli, to Bartolomeo di Jacopo di Martino Carrucci, Pontormo painted in and around Florence, often supported by Medici patronage. A foray to Rome, largely to see Michelangelos work, influenced his later style, haunted faces and elongated bodies are characteristic of his work. An example of Pontormos early style is a fresco depicting the Visitation of the Virgin and St Elizabeth, with its dancelike, balanced figures, placing these two pictures together—one from his early style, and another from his mature period—throws Pontormos artistic development into sharp relief. In the earlier work, Pontormo is much closer in style to his teacher, Andrea del Sarto, in the later work, the viewer is brought almost uncomfortably close to the Virgin and St. Elizabeth, who drift toward each other in clouds of drapery. Moreover, the architectural setting that is carefully constructed in earlier piece has been completely abandoned in favor of a peculiar nondescript urban setting. The Joseph canvases offer another example of Pontormos developing style, done around the same time as the earlier Visitation, these works show a much more mannerist leaning. According to Giorgio Vasari, the sitter for the boy seated on a step is his young apprentice, Bronzino. In the years between the SS Annunziata and San Michele Visitations, Pontormo took part in the decoration of the salon of the Medici country villa at Poggio a Caiano,17 km NNW of Florence. There he painted frescoes in a pastoral style, very uncommon for Florentine painters, their subject was the obscure classical myth of Vertumnus. In 1522, when the plague broke out in Florence, Pontormo left for the Certosa di Galluzzo and he painted a series of frescoes, now quite damaged, on the passion and resurrection of Christ. The figures, with their sharply modeled forms and brilliant colors are united in a complex, swirling ovular composition, housed by a shallow. Although commonly known as The Deposition from the Cross, there is no cross in the picture. The scene might more properly be called a Lamentation or Bearing the Body of Christ and those who are lowering Christ appear as anguished as the mourners. Though they are bearing the weight of a man, they barely seem to be touching the ground. These two boys have sometimes interpreted as angels, carrying Christ in his journey to Heaven
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Giovanni Boccaccio
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Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Boccaccio wrote a number of works, including The Decameron. The details of Boccaccios birth are uncertain and he was born in Florence or in a village near Certaldo where his family was from. He was the son of Florentine merchant Boccaccino di Chellino and an unknown woman, Boccaccios stepmother was called Margherita de Mardoli. His father worked for the Compagnia dei Bardi and, in the 1320s, married Margherita dei Mardoli, Boccaccio may have been tutored by Giovanni Mazzuoli and received from him an early introduction to the works of Dante. In 1326, his father was appointed head of a bank, Boccaccio was an apprentice at the bank but disliked the banking profession. He persuaded his father to let him study law at the Studium and he also pursued his interest in scientific and literary studies. His father introduced him to the Neapolitan nobility and the French-influenced court of Robert the Wise in the 1330s, at this time, he fell in love with a married daughter of the king, who is portrayed as Fiammetta in many of Boccaccios prose romances, including Il Filocolo. Acciaioli later became counselor to Queen Joanna I of Naples and, eventually and it seems that Boccaccio enjoyed law no more than banking, but his studies allowed him the opportunity to study widely and make good contacts with fellow scholars. His early influences included Paolo da Perugia, humanists Barbato da Sulmona and Giovanni Barrili, in Naples, Boccaccio began what he considered his true vocation of poetry. Works produced in this period include Il Filostrato and Teseida, The Filocolo, the period featured considerable formal innovation, including possibly the introduction of the Sicilian octave, where it influenced Petrarch. Boccaccio returned to Florence in early 1341, avoiding the plague of 1340 in that city and he had left Naples due to tensions between the Angevin king and Florence. His father had returned to Florence in 1338, where he had gone bankrupt, the pastoral piece Ninfale fiesolano probably dates from this time, also. In 1343, Boccaccios father remarried to Bice del Bostichi and his children by his first marriage had all died, but he had another son named Iacopo in 1344. In Florence, the overthrow of Walter of Brienne brought about the government of popolo minuto and it diminished the influence of the nobility and the wealthier merchant classes and assisted in the relative decline of Florence. The city was further in 1348 by the Black Death. From 1347, Boccaccio spent much time in Ravenna, seeking new patronage and, despite his claims and his stepmother died during the epidemic and his father was closely associated with the government efforts as Minister of Supply in the city. His father died in 1349 and Boccaccio was forced into an active role as head of the family
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Certaldo
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Certaldo is a town and comune of Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Florence, in the middle of Valdelsa. It is about 35 kilometres southwest of the Florence Duomo and it is 50 minutes by rail and 35 minutes by car southwest of Florence, and it is 25 minutes by rail north of Siena. It was the home of the family of Giovanni Boccaccio, the poet of Vita di Dante, and he died here at his home and was buried here in 1375. The town of Certaldo is divided into upper and lower parts, the lower part is called Certaldo Basso, whilst the medieval upper part is called Certaldo Alto. Certaldo Alto has limited access, for use by residents only. Visitors can park outside the walls or in the lower part, boccaccios house, of red brick, like the other old houses here, was restored in 1823 and furnished with old furniture. A statue of him was erected in the square in 1875. The town hosts several festivals a year, the largest and most famous is Mercantia, a week-long party in Certaldo Alto. It involves numerous street performers from across Italy, Europe and even the Americas, neuruppin, Germany Kanramachi, Japan Canterbury, United Kingdom
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Vinci, Tuscany
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Vinci is a town – officially a city – and comune of Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany. The birthplace of Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci lies just outside the town, Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15 April 1452, in a farmhouse about 3 kilometres from the town, between Anchiano and Faltognano. His full name was Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, which means Leonardo, son of Piero, half a million visitors a year come to visit the Museum of Leonardo and his birthplace. Museo Leonardiano, museum of Leonardo da Vinci and this museum has displays of some of the inventions that are drawn in da Vincis notebooks. Casa Natale di Leonardo, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, there are some reproductions of his drawings at the house. Church of Santa Croce, built in the 13th century but later remade in neo-Renaissance style, Vinci has two official sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International, Allentown, USA Amboise, France
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Empoli
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Empoli is a town and comune in Tuscany, Italy, about 20 kilometres southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times, the communes territory becomes hilly as it departs from the river. Empoli is on the railway line from Florence to Pisa. Empoli has a tradition as an agricultural centre. It has given its name to a variety of artichoke. Archaeological finds have revealed that Empoli was already settled in the early Roman Empire times, the river acted as a communication way for the trade of agricultural products, together with the local amphorae. In the Tabula Peutingeriana of the 4th century Empoli is called in portu as a port on the Roman road Via Quinctia. Empoli was also on the Via Salaiola, connecting to Volterras salt ponds, since the 8th century Empoli consolidated as a town around the castle, known as Emporium or Empolis. In 1119 it was absorbed into the Guidi counts possessions, in 1182 it went under Florentine rule. In 1260, after the Battle of Montaperti, Empoli was the seat of a council in which Farinata degli Uberti opposed the destruction of Florence. Later Empoli became an important fortress, and was repeatedly sacked and attacked. In 1530 its fall marked the end of the independence of the Florentine Republic, the Piazza Farinata degli Uberti, also known as Piazza dei Leoni, is marked in its centre by a fountain by Luigi Pampaloni. Here lies the Collegiata di SantAndrea, the citys monument. The church probably existed as early as the 5th century AD and it was rebuilt in the 11th century by the pievano Rolando, by permission of the Countess Emilia dei Conti Guidi. At the mid of the century a Romanesque arcaded façade was added, it was decorated with bi-chrome marble stones. The green stones were from Prato, the ones are from Carrara. In 1735 the architect Ferdinando Ruggieri extensively modified the façade and the interior structure, the Palazzo Ghibellino is the former palace of the Guidi counts. It was probably erected in the 11th century, in 1260 it was the seat of the Ghibelline parliament where the fate of the Florences Guelphs was decided
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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Barberino Val d'Elsa
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Barberino Val dElsa is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 30 kilometres south of Florence. The township of Barberino Val dElsa is located above the valley from which it takes its name, the centre of town is still ringed by its original fortifications. The Piazza Barberi includes the Church of San Bartolomeo which houses a fragment of an annunciation by the school of Giotto, the Via Francesco da Barberino leads to the 14th century Porta Senese, and the Ospedale dei Pellegrini dating from 1365. The Chapel of San Michele Arcangelo was built in 1597 by Santi di Tito as a perfect 1,8 scale reproduction of the Cupola of the Cathedral of Florence. It was constructed on the site of the ancient city of Semifonte, the site remains a focus for archaeological study. The noble Barberini family dynasty began at Barberino Val dElsa in the 11th century, schliersee, Germany Amgala, Western Sahara Publier, France Official website
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Borgo San Lorenzo
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Borgo San Lorenzo is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 20 kilometres northeast of Florence. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 18,085, Borgo San Lorenzo borders the following municipalities, Fiesole, Firenzuola, Marradi, Palazzuolo sul Senio, Pontassieve, San Piero a Sieve, Scarperia, Vaglia, Vicchio. The city of Borgo San Lorenzo is easily accessible by Trenitalia local service from Florence and Faenza
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Calenzano
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Calenzano is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 11 kilometres northwest of Florence. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 15,557, calenzano borders the following municipalities, Barberino di Mugello, Campi Bisenzio, Prato, San Piero a Sieve, Sesto Fiorentino, Vaglia, Vaiano. Villa Ginori a Collina, a patrician villa Church of San Niccolò e Oratorio della Compagnia del Santissimo Sacramento and it includes frescoes by Jacopo and Nardo di Cione and a panel by Domenico Cresti. Pieve di San Donato, with a Renaissance cloister built in 1460 by Carlo de Medici and it houses a Madonna with St. Thomas from Lorenzo di Credis workshop and a St. Anthony the Abbot from Ridolfo del Ghirlandaios school. The ancient Pieve di San Severo, with frescoes from the 14th-15th centuries, Church of Santa Lucia a Settimello. It houses a terracotta by Benedetto Buglioni and a crucifix by Baccio da Montelupo Parco del Neto. Calenzano has a station on the railway connecting it to Prato, Florence, Pistoia. It can be reached by road from the A1 Motorway, bus services connect it to Prato, Florence, Campi Bisenzio and Barberino di Mugello
Italy
Media related to Metropolitan city of Florence at Wikimedia Commons
