Florence to Rome

By Enrico Massetti

This is an e-guide to a 10 days trip in the land of the Etruscan, from Florence to Rome through Fiesole, Arezzo, Orvieto, Viterbo, Veii and Citta di Castello.

It is ideal for use on your smart phone, it contains active links to the web sites of many Tripadvisor reviews for the best recommended restaurants that are at the location described. There are active links to the Tripadvisor review pages, you can use them if you have an active Internet connection, but, if you don’t, you have the basic information ready: the name, address and telephone number are included in the guide.

There is the possibility of making reservations for places where to stay: Hotels, Apartments, Farm Houses, Bed & Breakfasts, Condo Hotels and Country Houses.

And of course there are extensive descriptions and photos of the attractions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Enrico Massetti
• Release date: Nov 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310803826

Enrico Massetti

Enrico Massetti nació en Milán, Italia, donde vivió durante más de 30 años, visitando innumerables destinos turísticos, desde las montañas de los Alpes hasta el mar de Sicilia. Ahora vive en Washington, Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, visita regularmente su ciudad natal y disfruta recorriendo todos los lugares de su país, especialmente aquellos a los que puede llegar en transporte público. Puede contactar con Enrico en [e-mail].

Book preview

Florence to Rome

Enrico Massetti

Florence to Rome

Enrico Massetti

Copyright Enrico Massetti 2014

Published by Enrico Massetti

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-312-65841-7

The land of the Etruscans.

Here is a journey from Florence to Rome, two cities that represent very different elements in the history of Italian art and culture as it has developed through the centuries.

In making this journey we pass through the land of the Etruscans, the fabled a Tyrrhenians of Herodotus.

They came from the East, landed on the shores of Tuscany and quickly spread out round the lakes and volcanic hills of the interior until they reached the shores of the Adriatic.

They founded the first great civilization of Western Europe: they were fond of the good things of life-luxury, jewels and good food.

Their cities rivaled each other in wealth and power, but they were not alive to the need to make a common front against their half-barbarian and turbulent neighbor, Rome which began to press up from the south. Its march to world domination had begun. One by one the Etruscan cities were conquered and burnt.

When the long history of Rome closed, ancient Etruria rose again and her cities were rebuilt close to the sites of the ancient ones. With the mediaeval communes the old individualistic and rather anarchic rivalry of cities began again. Tuscany revenged defeated Etruria.

Even while they shared in the flowering of the Renaissance, Florence and Rome maintained their essential difference, the one measured and balanced, the other grandiloquent and massive. In this land, which lies et the very heart of Italy, there is a mingling of all kinds of elements Roman, Etruscan, Medieval, Renaissance, in the abbeys and the cities.

Day 1: Florence

View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo.

Two days are the minimum needed to visit Florence .

Before starting to see Florence one should first look down from the top of one of its grey stone towers at the red sea of roofs lying between the hills, scattered with villas, cypresses and olive groves. The natural setting of the city is superb.

We start our visit to Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo , the most famous observation point of the cityscape of Florence, reproduced in countless postcards and a must-see for anyone visiting the city.

San Miniato

San Miniato

The old town can be appreciated in its entirety from the surrounding hills, especially from Forte Belvedere , from the Piazzale Michelangelo with the Romanesque Basilica of San Miniato al Monte , which offers one of the most beautiful views of the Arno valley.

From this point go up the monumental staircase of San Salvatore to San Miniato , with its facade of inlaid polychrome marble; this is more than decoration, it is color serving to express the architecture; the serene beauty of this façade is a foreshadowing of the Renaissance.

Frescoes by Spinello Aretino

In the interior this quiet expression of beauty in marble is continued. In the nave the Chapel of the Crucifix by Michelozzo, in the north aisle, the fine tomb by Manetti for a Portuguese Cardinal. In the Sacristy there are frescoes by Spinello Aretino , a pleasing minor master of the late 14th century.

Crypt

The crypt is the oldest part of the