BEAUTY AWAKENS THE SOUL TO ACT
IN the words of Florence's most famous poet, Dante, 'Beauty awakens the soul to act.'
And during a visit to the Renaissance City you will be surrounded by beauty in its every form.
Whether it's the sculpture of David in the Uffizi Gallery, Brunelleschi's awe-inspiring Duomo or simply the panoramic views of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo you will want to visit absolutely everything the Tuscan capital has to offer.
I have been visiting Florence for several years but this is the first time I have ever based myself in the city and not been restricted to a fleeting day trip.
Another change on this trip was our choice of airport. Most people would opt to fly into Pisa when visiting Tuscany but we found more competitively priced flights with Aer Lingus flying to Rome directly from Belfast. And with fast trains transporting you into the centre of Florence in little over an hour that little bit further to travel was more than worth it when you considered the savings.
My wife and I split our time in Florence between Baglioni Hotels' fabulous Bernini Palace and the Relais Santa Croce - two of the most centrally based and beautiful hotels in the whole city.
At the beginning of the 1700s the Santa Croce was home to Marquis Baldinucci, treasurer to the Pope.
Today the building has been pain-stakingly restored complete with period furniture and original frescos. And while the Relais Santa Croce is a fabulous five-star hotel it maintains the atmosphere and character of its former glory from centuries earlier.
The hotel takes it's name from Piazza Santa Croce which is one of the most famous squares in Florence. At one end of the Piazza stands the Basilica of Santa Croce - the church where Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli are all buried. A monument to Florence Nightingale stands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named.
From our room in the Santa Croce we could look across to the Basilica and on our first night there was open air opera performance of Dante's Divine Comedy - I didn't even know they knew we were coming.
Just 800 metres from the hotel stands Florence's most famous attraction. The duomo of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore which towers over the Florence roofline is an awe-inspiring feat of engineering carried out by Filippo Brunelleschi whose design was years ahead of its time.
Never before had such a huge dome been built without wooden supports and during its building in 1436 Brunelleschi had to invent ways of getting the materials to the builders at the top such was the originality of its design. No trip to Florence is complete without a visit to the Basilica.
For the next part of our Florentine adventure we checked into the Bernini Palace which is just a stone's throw from the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery as well as Florence's main shopping street Via Tornabuoni.
The Uffizi is home to some of the most famous pieces of Renaissance art as well as probably the most famous sculpture in the western world - Michelangelo's David.
Just around the corner from the Uffizi is the Ponte Vecchio - the famous bridge across the River Arno which is home to dozens of jewellery shops.
Going back to that quote from Dante, the beauty of the clothes in Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana certainly awakened my wife's soul to act.
If shopping's your thing then a trip along Via Tournabuoni will take you past the flagship stores of all of Italian's famous designers - an opportunity my wife refused to miss.
The beauty that awakened my soul to act came in the form of pasta usually washed down with a glass of the region's famous Chianti wine.
Florence has some stunning restaurants but we found it hard to go past the menu in the Bernini Palace's Brunello Lounge and Restaurant. The restaurant offers the very best in Tuscan cuisine served in the most sumptuous of surroundings.
The hotel itself combines old and new in a seamless fashion. On arrival the Bernini Palace strikes as you as an ultra modern hotel with the latest in Italian design incorporated into almost every corner.
The Brunello Lounge is decked out with uber chic furniture but the flipside of this is the hotel's breakfast room. The Parliament Room was once a meeting place for members of the Parliament and Senators of the kingdom of Italy when Florence was the capital city and stepping into it is like stepping back in time as you are surrounded by original frescoes and decorations.
The hotel also has a Tuscan floor with every room decorated in the style of a Tuscan villa but obviously with that unique Baglioni touch.
Whenever I write a travel feature I go to some lengths to avoid using the cliche, "This place has something for everyone." And with this article it has been particularly hard to resist.
So I am not saying that, but instead letting you know that if you're destination requirements include sunny weather, beautiful scenery, jaw-dropping architecture, famous works of art, designer shopping, some of the best food and wine from anywhere in the world and leading luxury hotels then Florence ticks all the boxes.
Factbox
John Hooks travelled to Rome from Belfast International with Aer Lingus. For details of flights log onto www.aerlingus.com
He stayed at the five-star Relais Santa Croce Hotel and the four-star Bernini Palace Hotel in Florence. For booking details for these hotels log onto www.baglionihotels.com.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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