Sublime

surprisingly well-produced 3-D movie about the city, offering tasteful and evocative slices of Florentine life and lingering images of the big landmarks (free, 13 minutes, in Italian with English

download my series of free audio tours that illuminate some of Florence’s top sights and neighborhoods: my Renaissance Walk, the Accademia, and the Uffizi Gallery (see sidebar on here for details). For insight with

To the east of Pitti and the gardens, perched high on the hill, is the magnificent-view Church of San Miniato; just below that sits Piazzale Michelangelo (with Florence’s most popular viewpoint), and tucked below and between there and the river is the lively and funky little San Niccolò neighborhood, with lively bars and trendy restaurants. Farther

Florence was the most civilized city in the world, and the chief source of the Renaissance.