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Blue Guide Florence
In expert fashion Blue Guide Florence covers the range of what this extraordinary city―the cradle of the Renaissance―offers to from singular museums and galleries to beautifully, meticulously built churches, to some of the most breathtaking walks and finest food in the region. From Brunelleschi's Duomo to the magnificent Boboli gardens, Florence reveals a fascinating history―of intrigue, patronage, and art. Color diagrams, floor plans, and maps; 40 color photographs.
- GenresTravelArchitectureItaly
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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About the author
Alta MacAdam
20 books1 follower Alta Macadam is a Florence-based art historian who is one of the Blue Guides' best-selling authors.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 2, 2023
This is an incredibly comprehensive guide for the city of Florence and its surroundings. Here you are bound to find, with reasonable depth and detail, information on the numerous sites of the city, both in the main historical city as well as in the surrounding hills and towns.
Following the pattern of other Blue Guides, this is very neatly organized, starting with a brief historical recap of the city, and then exploring different neighborhoods. Each region is then broken up into the main sights from all these different ages, with maps for the main clusters also being provided. Mrs. MacAdam breadth in knowledge is stunning, as she moves seamlessly through these different ages and buildings, providing not only historical context but also cultural: which architects designed such buildings, which artists decorated it, the meanings of these choices, the artistic movement they belonged to and the political and social context that framed the building construction and/or renovation. For especially large and rich sights, maps are provided so you can understand the different parts of the building and the works and different artists responsible for each part.
With such a comprehensive source available, I would recommend you read and highlight the most interesting parts, specially of the sights you intend to see: this will help you prioritize. It also helps you to wander around the city with context and quickly refresh on the details of each specific sight by browsing its entry.
Of the (many) very nice sights I discovered through this guide, I would highlight:
I – Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli and Bardini gardens, the palatial complex of the Medici’s. The palace has numerous rooms lavishly decorated that help one to understand the court life in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, while the gardens, with their many terraces and hedges, are beautiful pieces of landscaping with impressive views of the city.
II – Bargello, one of the original seats of the city’s government, being the house of the podesta, it now houses an impressive collection of early Renaissance and lesser know Renaissance works of art, with an impressive sculpture collection of all sizes.
III – Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce. While both cathedrals are some of the most known sights of the city, the diagrams and explanations provided in the guide helped a lot in grasping the extensive artistic and historical significance of both places, both inside the cathedral and the small chapels and cloisters that encompass the whole complexes.
IV – San Lorenzo, San Miniato al Monte and San Salvatore di Ognissanti. The first has the private chapel of the Medici’s, with some impressive funerary monuments. San Miniato is a peaceful Byzantine-style basilica, decorated with green marble and mosaics, that sits atop a hill with an impressive view of the city while Ognissanti seats close to the Arno and is lavishly decorated, being the tomb of Vespucci and Botticelli.
V – Fiesole, which still has extensive and very well-preserved Roman ruins and the many Medici estates in the hills around Florence.
Following the pattern of other Blue Guides, this is very neatly organized, starting with a brief historical recap of the city, and then exploring different neighborhoods. Each region is then broken up into the main sights from all these different ages, with maps for the main clusters also being provided. Mrs. MacAdam breadth in knowledge is stunning, as she moves seamlessly through these different ages and buildings, providing not only historical context but also cultural: which architects designed such buildings, which artists decorated it, the meanings of these choices, the artistic movement they belonged to and the political and social context that framed the building construction and/or renovation. For especially large and rich sights, maps are provided so you can understand the different parts of the building and the works and different artists responsible for each part.
With such a comprehensive source available, I would recommend you read and highlight the most interesting parts, specially of the sights you intend to see: this will help you prioritize. It also helps you to wander around the city with context and quickly refresh on the details of each specific sight by browsing its entry.
Of the (many) very nice sights I discovered through this guide, I would highlight:
I – Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli and Bardini gardens, the palatial complex of the Medici’s. The palace has numerous rooms lavishly decorated that help one to understand the court life in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, while the gardens, with their many terraces and hedges, are beautiful pieces of landscaping with impressive views of the city.
II – Bargello, one of the original seats of the city’s government, being the house of the podesta, it now houses an impressive collection of early Renaissance and lesser know Renaissance works of art, with an impressive sculpture collection of all sizes.
III – Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce. While both cathedrals are some of the most known sights of the city, the diagrams and explanations provided in the guide helped a lot in grasping the extensive artistic and historical significance of both places, both inside the cathedral and the small chapels and cloisters that encompass the whole complexes.
IV – San Lorenzo, San Miniato al Monte and San Salvatore di Ognissanti. The first has the private chapel of the Medici’s, with some impressive funerary monuments. San Miniato is a peaceful Byzantine-style basilica, decorated with green marble and mosaics, that sits atop a hill with an impressive view of the city while Ognissanti seats close to the Arno and is lavishly decorated, being the tomb of Vespucci and Botticelli.
V – Fiesole, which still has extensive and very well-preserved Roman ruins and the many Medici estates in the hills around Florence.
July 24, 2017
Hmm. Should be retitled Florence MUSEUMS AND CATHEDRALS Blue Guide. If you plan to really hit the museums and want to know about every building and piece of art, this is your guide. Slim on pictures. Nice history of the Medicis and other historical figures throughout. Only for the very serious.
June 18, 2013
Excellent resource.
January 27, 2008
A must for anyone traveling to Florence...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews