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Florence Henderson
Henderson at the 1989 Emmy Awards
Born	Florence Agnes Henderson (1934-02-14) February 14, 1934 (age 78) Dale, Indiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actress/Singer
Years active	1952–present
Spouse	Ira Bernstein (1956–1985) (divorced) John Kappas (1987–2002) (his death)
Website
flohome.com

Florence Agnes Henderson (born February 14, 1934) is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974. She may also be known for being a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2010.

As of 2010, she hosts the American TV talk show The Florence Henderson Show.

Early life[link]

Henderson, the youngest of ten children, was born in Dale, Indiana, a small town in the southwest region of the state. Henderson was a daughter of Elizabeth (née Elder), a homemaker, and Joseph Henderson, a tobacco sharecropper.^[1] Raised a Roman Catholic, she graduated from St. Francis Academy in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1951; shortly thereafter, she went to New York City, enrolling in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is an Alumna Initiate of the Alpha Chi chapter of Delta Zeta Sorority.

Career[link]

Henderson started her career on the stage, performing in musicals, such as the touring production of Oklahoma! and South Pacific at Lincoln Center. She debuted on Broadway in the musical Wish You Were Here in 1952 and later starred on Broadway in the long-running 1954 musical, Fanny (888 performances) in which she originated the title role. Henderson also appeared on Broadway in The Girl Who Came to Supper (1963). In 1962, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre, and the same year became the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She also joined the ranks of what was then called "The Today Girl" on NBC's long running morning show, doing weather and light news, a position also once held by Barbara Walters.^[2]

Her most widely seen role was as Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch which aired on ABC from 1969 until 1974. Henderson's best friend, Shirley Jones, had previously turned down the role as at the time she wasn't ready to do a TV series and she needed to spend more time with her children and stepchild.^{[citation needed]}

Primarily owing to her role in The Brady Bunch, Henderson was ranked by TV Land and Entertainment Weekly as one of the 100 Greatest TV Icons.

Henderson was a frequent panelist on the original version of the television game show Hollywood Squares and made occasional appearances on The $25,000 Pyramid.

Henderson was the spokeswoman for Wesson cooking oil from 1976 to 1996. During that time, she hosted a cooking show on TNN called Country Kitchen, and also did ads for Prange's, a former Wisconsin department store chain. Henderson co-hosted the talk show Later Today on NBC (1999–2000) with co-hosts Jodi Applegate and Asha Blake. In the 2000s, she was the spokeswoman for Polident denture cleanser. In 2003, Henderson seemed to poke fun at her wholesome image by appearing in a Pepsi Twist television commercial with Ozzy Osbourne.

Henderson has also appeared with her TV children, as with Christopher Knight on the reality television series My Fair Brady. She is also in the sixth season of VH1's Surreal Life.

In most years since the mid-1990s, the song "God Bless America" has been performed by Henderson at the Indianapolis 500 accompanied by the Purdue All-American Marching Band, Henderson being a friend of the Hulman-George family, the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

She appeared in the "Weird Al" Yankovic video for "Amish Paradise" and co-hosted the daily talk show "Living Live" with former Designing Women star Meshach Taylor on Retirement Living TV. The show was reworked to focus on her and was renamed "The Florence Henderson Show". In 2002 she made a memorable guest appearance on comedy improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, participating in on-screen kisses with Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie.^[3]

Since 2008, Henderson has been the host of her own television series, The Florence Henderson Show, which airs on RLTV (Retirement Living TV).^{[citation needed]} The show was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2010.^[4] In May 2010, Henderson did a series of promotional radio ads for Fox TV. On the July 12, 2010 edition of WWE Raw, Henderson appeared as the night's guest host.

Henderson was one of twelve celebrities competing on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars which premiered on September 20, 2010. Her professional partner was Corky Ballas.^[5] On October 19, 2010 she was voted off the show.

Henderson made a special appearance on May 11, 2012 in a special Mother's Day episode on The Price Is Right with Drew Carey, displaying prizes as well as one of the showcases.

Personal life[link]

In the mid-1950s, Henderson was diagnosed with a bone deformation of the middle ear, and she had to have surgery to prevent deafness. Henderson married Ira Bernstein in January 1956, and the couple had four children, Barbara, Joseph, Robert, and Elizabeth. During the filming of The Brady Bunch in Los Angeles, Henderson returned to the family's New York home each weekend to spend time with her children. In her autobiography "Life Is Not A Stage" she acknowledges her infidelity during her marriage to Bernstein including an affair with then-New York City Mayor John Lindsay, whom the actress claims gave her crab lice.^[6] In 1985, she divorced Bernstein after almost 29 years of marriage. She later married Dr. John Kappas, a hypnotherapist and founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, whom she met while battling depression in the mid 1980s. Henderson studied hypnotherapy and is a licensed therapist.^[7] Kappas died in 2002.

In the 2000s, she has been a supporter of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana; one of the Sisters was her teacher when she was young. She has appeared in a number of their promotional videos and has helped in fund-raising efforts. She has won money for the Sisters on the game show The Weakest Link and on a classic-television-themed episode of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire in 2001, winning $32,000 in their name. On the show, Florence used her son Joseph as a Phone-a-Friend lifeline for the $64,000 question on a question about laser colors and answered correctly; however, she then got the $125,000 question wrong and lost $32,000. When Florence appeared on the VH1 show The Surreal Life, she made a point of showing respect for the Catholic Church and the Sisters of St. Benedict by refusing to dress in a nun's costume for a comedy skit.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Florence Henderson

• Official website
• Florence Henderson Show (2010)
• Florence Henderson at the Internet Movie Database
• Florence Henderson at the Internet Broadway Database
• Florence Henderson at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Archive of American Television Interview with Florence Henderson October 20 1999 on Google Video
• Florence Henderson 'DWTS' Elimination

Florence Firenze
—  Comune  —
Comune di Firenze
A collage of Florence showing the Uffizi (top left), followed by the Pitti Palace, a sunset view of the city and the Fontana del Nettuno in the Piazza della Signoria
Coat of arms
Florence Location of Florence in Italy
Coordinates: 43°47′N 11°15′E / 43.783°N 11.25°E / 43.783; 11.25Coordinates: 43°47′N 11°15′E / 43.783°N 11.25°E / 43.783; 11.25
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Florence (FI)
Government
• Mayor	Matteo Renzi (Democratic Party)
Area
• Total	102.41 km2 (39.54 sq mi)
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Population (31 October 2010)[1]
• Total	370,702
• Density	3,600/km2 (9,400/sq mi)
Demonym	Fiorentini
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	50121-50145
Dialing code	055
Patron saint	John the Baptist
Saint day	24 June
Website	Official website

Florence (Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] ( listen), alternate obsolete form: Fiorenza; Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.^[2]

Florence is famous for its history. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time,^[3] Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.^[4] A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy.

The historic centre of Florence attracts millions of tourists each year, and Euromonitor International ranked the city as the world's 72nd most visited in 2009, with 1,685,000 visitors.^[5] It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world,^[6] and the city is noted for its history, culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments.^[7] The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace, amongst others, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.^[8]

Florence is also an important city in Italian fashion,^[8] being ranked within the top fifty fashion capitals of the world;^[9] furthermore, it is also a major national economic centre,^[8] being a tourist and industrial hub. In 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy.^[10]

History[link]

Historic centre of Florence *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Historic centre of Florence
Country	Italy
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv, vi
Reference	174
Region **	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1982 (6th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

The façade of the Cathedral

Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune, it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance (or the "Florentine Renaissance"). According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th century to the 16th century.^[11]

The language spoken in the city there during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Almost all the writers and poets in the Italian literature of the golden age are somewhat connected with Florence, leading ultimately to the adoption of the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, as a literary language of choice.^[12]

Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of industry all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon and Hungary. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War, as well as the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of the latter.

Florence was home to the Medici, one of history's 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 as Leo X and Clement VII in the early 16th century. Catherine de Medici, married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. The Medici reigned Grand Dukes of Tuscany starting with Cosimo I de' Medici in 1569, until the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737.

Roman origins[link]

A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre

Florence was established by Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers and was named originally Fluentia, owing the fact that it was built between two rivers, which was later corrupted to Florentia.^[13] 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 at the Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. The Emperor Diocletian is said to have made Florentia the seat of a bishopric around the beginning of the 4th century AD, but this seems impossible in that Diocletian was a notable persecutor of Christians.^{[citation needed]}

In the ensuing two centuries, the city experienced turbulent periods of Ostrogothic rule, during which the city was often troubled by warfare between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, which may have caused the population to fall to as few as 1,000 people. 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 grow again and commerce prospered. In 854, Florence and Fiesole were united in one county.^{[citation needed]}

Second millennium[link]

Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of Lucca at about 1000 AD. The Golden Age of Florentine art began around this time. In 1013, construction began on the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. The exterior of the baptistery was reworked in Romanesque style between 1059, and 1128. This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival Pisa (defeated by Genoa in 1284 and subjugated by Florence in 1406), and the exercise of power by the mercantile elite following an anti-aristocratic movement, led by Giano della Bella, that resulted in a set of laws called the Ordinances of Justice (1293).^{[citation needed]}

Middle Ages and Renaissance[link]

Rise of the Medici[link]

Leonardo da Vinci (statue outside the Uffizi gallery)

Of a population estimated at 94,000 before the Black Death of 1348,^[14] about 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's wool industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers (ciompi), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382–1434) of the Albizzi family, bitter rivals of the Medici.

In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, considered rich and economically successful. Life was not idyllic for all residents though, among whom there were great disparities in wealth.^[15] Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the gente nuova (new people). The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero, who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Lorenzo was an accomplished musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico).

Following the death of Lorenzo de' Medici in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II. When the French king Charles VIII invaded northern Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realized the size of the French army at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel and they expelled Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government.

Savonarola and Machiavelli[link]

Girolamo Savonarola being burnt at the stake in 1498

During this period, the Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola had become prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He blamed the exile of the Medicis as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his extreme teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498.

A second individual of unusual insight was Niccolò Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine Histories, the history of the city. Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a republic on 16 May 1527. Restored twice with the support of both Emperor and Pope, the Medici in 1537 became hereditary dukes of Florence, and in 1569 Grand Dukes of Tuscany, ruling for two centuries. In all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy) and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence.

18th and 19th centuries[link]

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and his family. Leopold was, from 1765 to 1790, the Grand Duke of Tuscany

The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the Bourbon-Parma in 1801, themselves deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by France. Florence was the prefecture of the French département of Arno from 1808 to the fall of Napoleon in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Florence replaced Turin as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele II, then Piazza della Repubblica, the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. This development was unpopular and was prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American people living in the city.^{[citation needed]} A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today.

The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops made its addition to the kingdom possible.

20th century[link]

Porte Sante cemetery, burial place of notable figures of Florentine's history.

After doubling during the 19th century, Florence's population was to triple in the 20th, resulting from growth in tourism, trade, financial services and industry.

During World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) and was declared an open city. The Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about nine kilometres south of the city, British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the centre on the right bank of the Arno). In 1944, the retreating Germans blew up the bridges along the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, making it difficult for the British troops to cross. However, at the last moment Charle Steinhauslin, at the time consulate of 26 countries in Florence, convinced the German general in Italy that the Ponte Vecchio was not to be blown up due to its historical value.

Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the Corridoio Vasariano, was destroyed using mines. Since then the bridges have been restored to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. Shortly before leaving Florence, as they knew that they would soon have to retreat, the Germans murdered many freedom fighters and political opponents publicly, in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito.

At the end of World War II in Europe, in May 1945, the U.S. Army's Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilized American service men and women in Florence, Italy. The first American University for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics in Florence, Italy. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the University during its four one-month sessions (see G. I. American Universities).^[16]

In November 1966, the Arno flooded parts of the centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point.

In November 2002 the city was the place of birth of the first edition of the European Social Forum.

Geography[link]

Florence lies in a basin among the Senese Clavey Hills, particularly the hills of Careggi, Fiesole, Settignano, Arcetri, Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo (Florence). The Arno river and three other minor rivers flow through it.

Climate[link]

Florence has a borderline humid subtropical (Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Csa).^[17] It has hot, humid summers with moderate rainfall and cool, damp winters. Surrounded by hills in a river valley, Florence can be hot and humid from June to August. As Florence lacks a prevailing wind, summer temperatures are higher than along the coast. Rainfall in summer is convectional, while relief rainfall dominates in the winter, with some snow. The highest officially recorded temperature was 42.6 °C (108.7 °F) in 26 July 1983 and the lowest was −23.2 °C (−9.8 °F) on 12 January 1985.^[18]

Subdivisions[link]

The traditional subdivision of Florence into four quarters dates from the 14th century (that today compose the old town):

• Santa Maria Novella
• San Giovanni
• Santa Croce
• Santo Spirito

Subdivision of Florence: The traditional quarters and wards (Quartiere)

Historical quarters

Administrative wards

The modern administrative subdivision into five wards follows the boundaries of the traditional quarters in the outer areas.

The five administrative divisions with their neighbourhoods are:

Main sights[link]

Ponte Vecchio, which overlooks the Arno river

Florence is known as the "cradle of the Renaissance" (la culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches and buildings. The best-known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, whose dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world.^[20] In 1982, the historic centre of Florence (Italian: centro storico di Firenze) was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. The centre of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built in the 14th century to defend the city. At the heart of the city, in Piazza della Signoria, is Bartolomeo Ammanati's Fountain of Neptune (1563–1565), which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still-functioning Roman aqueduct.

The layout and structure of Florence in many ways harkens back to the Roman era, where it was designed as a garrison settlement.^[21] Nevertheless, the majority of the city was built during the Renaissance.^[21] Despite the strong presence of Renaissance architecture within the city, traces of medieval, Baroque, Neoclassical and modern architecture can be found. The Palazzo Vecchio as well as the Duomo, or the city's Cathedral, are the two buildings which dominate Florence's skyline.^[21]

The River Arno, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the people who lived there. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno – which alternated between nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.

One of the bridges in particular stands out – the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carries Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (Palazzo Pitti). Although the original bridge was constructed by the Etruscans, the current bridge was rebuilt in the 14th century. It is the only bridge in the city to have survived World War II intact. It is the first example in the western world of a bridge built using segmental arches, that is, arches less than a semicircle, to reduce both span-to-rise ratio and the numbers of pillars to allow lesser encumbrance in the riverbed (being in this much more successful than the Roman Alconétar Bridge)

Ponte Santa Trinita with the Oltrarno district

The church of San Lorenzo contains the Medici Chapel, the mausoleum of the Medici family—the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th to the 18th century. Nearby is the Uffizi Gallery, one of the finest art museums in the world – founded on a large bequest from the last member of the Medici family.

The Uffizi is located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria, a site important for being the centre of Florence's civil life and government for centuries. The Palazzo della Signoria facing it is still home of the municipal government. The Loggia dei Lanzi provided the setting for all the public ceremonies of the republican government. Many significant episodes in the history of art and political changes were staged here, such as:

• In 1301, Dante was sent into exile from here (commemorated by a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi).
• On 26 April 1478, Jacopo de' Pazzi and his retainers tried to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as The congiura dei Pazzi (The Pazzi conspiracy), murdering Giuliano di Piero de' Medici and wounding his brother Lorenzo. All the members of the plot who could be apprehended were seized by the Florentines and hanged from the windows of the palace.
• In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola
• On 23 May 1498, the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake. (A round plate in the ground marks the spot where he was hanged)
• In 1504, Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a replica, since the original was moved indoors to the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno) was installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio).

The Piazza della Signoria is the location of a number of statues by other sculptors such as Donatello, Giambologna, Ammannati and Cellini, although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the originals.

Monuments, museums and religious buildings[link]

Piazzale degli Uffizi

Florence contains several palaces and buildings from various eras. The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence and also an art museum. This large Romanesque crenellated fortress-palace overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale, in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. It is linked to the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti through the Corridoio Vasariano. Palazzo Medici Riccardi, designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo il Vecchio, of the Medici family, is another major edifice, and was built between 1445 and 1460. It was well known for its stone masonry that includes rustication and ashlar. Today it is the head office of the Florence province and hosts museums and the Riccardiana Library. The Palazzo Strozzi, an example of civil architecture with its rusticated stone, inspired by the Palazzo Medici, but with more harmonious proportions. Today the palace is used for international expositions like the annual antique show (founded as the Biennale del'Antiquariato in 1959), fashion shows and other cultural and artistic events. Here also is the seat of the Istituto Nazionale del Rinascimento and the noted Gabinetto Vieusseux, with the library and reading room. Aside from these palaces and buildings, there are several others, including the Palazzo Rucellai, designed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and executed, at least in part, by Bernardo Rossellino; the Palazzo Davanzati, which houses the museum of the Old Florentine House; the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1871; the Palazzo Spini Feroni, in Piazza Santa Trinita, a historic 13th-century private palace, owned since the 1920s by shoe-designer Salvatore Ferragamo; as well as various others, including the Palazzo Borghese, the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello, the Palazzo Antinori, and the Royal building of Santa Maria Novella.

Palazzo Pitti on Boboli Gardens' side

Florence contains numerous museums and art galleries where some of the world's most important works of art are held. The city is one of the best preserved Renaissance centres of art and architecture in the world and has a high concentration of art, architecture and culture.^[22] In the ranking list of the 15 most visited Italian art museums, 2/3 are represented by Florentine museums.^[23] The Uffizi is one of these; one of the most famous and important art galleries in the world, it has a very large collection of international and Florentine art. The gallery is articulated in many halls, cataloged by schools and chronological order. Engendered by the Medici family's artistic collections through the centuries, it houses works of art by various painters and artists. The Vasari Corridor is another gallery, built connecting the Palazzo Vecchio with the Pitti Palace passing by the Uffizi and over the Ponte Vecchio. The Galleria dell' Accademia houses a Michelangelo collection, including the David. It has a collection of Russian icons and works by various artists and painters. Furthermore, other museums and galleries include the Bargello, which concentrates on sculpture works by artists including Donatello, Giambologna and Michelangelo; the Palazzo Pitti, containing part of the Medici family's former private collection. In addition to the Medici collection, the palace's galleries contain many Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian, large collections of costumes, ceremonial carriages, silver, porcelain and a gallery of modern art dating from the 18th century. Adjoining the palace are the Boboli Gardens, elaborately landscaped and with numerous sculptures.

Florence Cathedral

There are several different churches and religious buildings in Florence. The Cathedral is the Santa Maria del Fiore. It is the fourth largest church in Europe, its length being 153 metres (502 ft) and its height 116 metres (381 ft). The San Giovanni Baptistery is located in front of the Florence Cathedral, and it is decorated by numerous artists, notably by Lorenzo Ghiberti with the Gates of Paradise. Other churches in Florence include the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, located in Santa Maria Novella square (near the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station) which contains works by Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, Filippino Lippi and Domenico Ghirlandaio; the Basilica of Santa Croce, the principal Franciscan church in the city, which is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south east of the Duomo, and is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile, Rossini, and Marconi, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie); the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which is one of the largest churches in the city, situated at the centre of Florence's main market district, and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III; Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno quarter, facing the square with the same name; Orsanmichele, whose building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele, now demolished; Santissima Annunziata, a Roman Catholic basilica and the mother church of the Servite order; Ognissanti, which was founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, and is among the first examples of Baroque architecture built in the city; the Santa Maria del Carmine, in the Oltrarno district of Florence, which is the location of the Brancacci Chapel, housing outstanding Renaissance frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino da Panicale, later finished by Filippino Lippi; the Medici Chapel, in the San Lorenzo; as well as several others, including Santa Trinita, San Marco, Santa Felicita, Badia Fiorentina, San Gaetano, San Miniato al Monte, Florence Charterhouse, and Santa Maria del Carmine. The city additionally contains the Orthodox Russian church of Nativity, and the Great Synagogue of Florence, built in the 19th century.

Additionally, Florence contains various theatres and cinemas. The Odeon Cinema of the Palazzo dello Strozzino is one of the oldest movie theatres in the city. Established from 1920 to 1922^[24] in a wing of the Palazzo dello Strozzino, it used to be called the Cinema Teatro Savoia (Savoy Cinema-Theatre), yet was later called Odeon. The Teatro della Pergola, located in the centre of the city on the eponymous street, is an opera house built in the 17th century. Another theatreis the Teatro Comunale (or Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele, which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6,000 people. There are several other theatres, such as the Saloncino Castinelli, the Teatro Puccini, the Teatro Verdi, the Teatro Goldoni and the Teatro Niccolini.

Squares, streets and parks[link]

Piazza della Repubblica

Aside from such monuments, Florence contains numerous major squares (piazze) and streets. The Piazza della Repubblica is a square in the city centre, location of the cultural cafes and bourgeois palaces. Among the square's cafes (like Caffè Gilli, Paszkowski or the Hard Rock Cafè), the Giubbe Rosse cafe has long been a meeting place for artists and writers, notably those of Futurism. The Piazza Santa Croce is another; dominated by the Basilica of Santa Croce, it is a rectangular square in the centre of the city where the Calcio Fiorentino is played every year. Furthermore, there is the Piazza Santa Trinita, a square near the Arno that mark the end of the Via de' Tornabuoni street. Other squares include the Piazza San Marco, the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the Piazza Beccaria and the Piazza della Libertà. The centre additionally contains several streets. Such include the Via Camillo Cavour, one of the main roads of the northern area of the historic centre; the Via Ghibellina, one of central Florence's longest streets; the Via dei Calzaiuoli, one of most central streets of the historic centre of the which links Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria, winding parallel to via Roma and Piazza della Repubblica; the Via de' Tornabuoni, a luxurious street in the city centre that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita, across Piazza Santa Trinita, characterised by the presence of fashion boutiques; the Viali di Circonvallazione, 6-lane boulevards surrounding the northern part of the historic centre; as well as others, such as Via Roma, Via degli Speziali, Via de' Cerretani, and the Viale dei Colli.

Florence also contains various parks and gardens. Such include the Boboli Gardens, the Parco delle Cascine, the Giardino Bardini and the Giardino dei Semplici, amongst others.

Demographics[link]

As of 31 October 2010 (2010 -10-31)^[update], the population of the city proper is 370,702, while Eurostat estimates that 696,767 people live in the urban area of Florence. The Metropolitan Area of Florence, Prato and Pistoia, constituted in 2000 over an area of roughly 4,800 square kilometres, is home to 1.5 million people. Within Florence proper, 46.8% of the population was male in 2007 and 53.2% were female. Minors (children aged 18 and less) totalled 14.10 percent of the population compared to pensioners, who numbered 25.95 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Florence resident is 49 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Florence grew by 3.22 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent.^[25] The birth rate of Florence is 7.66 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.

As of 2009, 87.46% of the population was Italian. An estimated 6,000 Chinese live in the city.^[26] The largest immigrant group came from other European countries (mostly Romanians and Albanians): 3.52%, East Asia (mostly Chinese and Filipino): 2.17%, the Americas (moslty Peruvians): 1.41%, and North Africa (mostly Moroccan): 0.9%.^[27]

Economy[link]

Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city.^[28] Manufacturing and commerce, however, still remain highly important. Florence is also Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is that of €6,531,204,473), coming after Mantua, yet surpassing Bolzano.^[29]

Industry, commerce and services[link]

Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food.^[28] However, traditional and local products, such as antiques, handicrafts, glassware, leatherwork, art reproductions, jewelry, souvenirs, elaborate metal and iron-work, shoes, accessories and high fashion clothes also dominate a fair sector of Florence's economy.^[28] The city's income relies partially on services and commercial and cultural interests, such as annual fairs, theatrical and lyrical productions, art exhibitions, festivals and fashion shows, such as the Calcio Fiorentino. Heavy industry and machinery also take their part in providing an income. In Nuovo Pignone, numerous factories are still present, and small-to medium industrial businesses are dominant. The Florence-Prato-Pistoia industrial districts and areas were known as the 'Third Italy' in the 1990s, due to the exports of high-quality goods and automobile (especially the Vespa) and the prosperity and productivity of the Florentine entrepreneurs. Some of these industries even rivaled the traditional industrial districts in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto due to high profits and productivity.^[28]

Tourism[link]

Tourists flock to the Fontana del Porcellino.

Tourism is the most significant industry in central Florence. From April to October, tourists outnumber local population. Tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia museums are regularly sold out and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, both of which charge for entry. In 2010, readers of Travel + Leisure magazine ranked the city as their third favourite tourist destination.^[30] Studies by Euromonitor International have concluded that cultural and history-oriented tourism is generating significantly increased spending throughout Europe.^[31]

Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art (in proportion to its size) in the world.^[32] Thus, cultural tourism is particularly strong, with world-renowned museums such as the Uffizi selling over 1.6 million tickets^[33] a year. The city's convention centre facilities were restructured during the 1990s and host exhibitions, conferences, meetings, social forums, concerts and other events all year.

Florence has approximately 35,000 hotel beds and 23,000 other accommodation facilities (campsites, guesthouses, youth hostels and farmhouses), giving potential for overall stays to exceed 10 million visitor/nights a year. Visitors also include thousands of day-trippers brought in by cruise ships (to Livorno) and by road and rail. In 2007, the city ranked as the world's 59th most visited city, with over 1.729 million arrivals for the year.^[34] It has been estimated that just under one-third of tourists are Italians, the remainder comprising Americans (20%), Germans (13%), Japanese (8%), Britons (7.8%), French (5.7%) and Spaniards (5%).

Food and wine production[link]

Food and wine have long been an important staple of the economy. Florence is the most important city in Tuscany, one of the great wine-growing regions in the world. The Chianti region is just south of the city, and its Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its Chianti Classico wines but also in many of the more recently developed Supertuscan blends. Within twenty miles (32 km) to the west is the Carmignano area, also home to flavorful sangiovese-based reds. The celebrated Chianti Rufina district, geographically and historically separated from the main Chianti region, is also few miles east of Florence. More recently, the Bolgheri region (about 150 km southwest of Florence) has become celebrated for its "Super Tuscan" reds such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia.^[35]

Culture[link]

Art[link]

Botticelli's Venus, stored in the Uffizi

Sculptures in the Loggia dei Lanzi

Florence has a legendary artistic heritage. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias, Filippo Lippi and Angelico; Botticelli, Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.^[36][37]

Their works, together with those of many other generations of artists, are gathered in the several museums of the town: the Uffizi Gallery, the Palatina gallery with the paintings of the "Golden Ages",^[38] the Bargello with the sculptures of the Renaissance, the museum of San Marco with Fra Angelico's works, the Academy, the chapels of the Medicis^[39] Buonarroti' s house with the sculptures of Michelangelo, the following museums: Bardini, Horne, Stibbert, Romano, Corsini, The Gallery of Modern Art, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the museum of Silverware and the museum of Precious Stones.^[40] Great monuments are the landmarks of Florentine artistic culture: the Florence Baptistery with its mosaics; the Cathedral with its sculptures, the medieval churches with bands of frescoes; public as well as private palaces: Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Palazzo Davanzati; monasteries, cloisters, refectories; the "Certosa". In the archeological museum includes documents of Etruscan civilization.^[41] In fact the city is so rich in art that some first time visitors experience the Stendhal syndrome as they encounter its art for the first time.^[42]

Uffizi hallway

Florentine architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1466) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) were among the fathers of both Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture.^[43]

The cathedral, topped by Brunelleschi's dome, dominates the Florentine skyline. The Florentines decided to start building it – late in the 13th century, without a design for the dome. The project proposed by Brunelleschi in the 14th century was the largest ever built at the time, and the first major dome built in Europe since the two great domes of Roman times – the Pantheon in Rome, and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore remains the largest brick construction of its kind in the world.^[44][45] In front of it is the medieval Baptistery. The two buildings incorporate in their decoration the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. In recent years, most of the important works of art from the two buildings – and from the nearby Giotto's Campanile, have been removed and replaced by copies. The originals are now housed in the Museum dell'Opera del Duomo, just to the east of the Cathedral.

Florence has large numbers of art-filled churches,^[11] such as San Miniato al Monte, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Trinita, Santa Maria del Carmine, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, the Annunziata, Ognissanti and numerous others.

The Palazzo della Signoria, better known as the Palazzo Vecchio (English:The Old Palace)

Artists associated with Florence range from Arnolfo di Cambio and Cimabue to Giotto, Nanni di Banco, and Paolo Uccello; through Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Donatello and Massaccio and the della Robbia family; through Fra Angelico and Botticelli and Piero della Francesca, and on to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Others include Benvenuto Cellini, Andrea del Sarto, Benozzo Gozzoli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Filippo Lippi, Bernardo Buontalenti, Orcagna, Pollaiuolo, Filippino Lippi, Verrocchio, Bronzino, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelozzo, the Rossellis, the Sangallos, and Pontormo. Artists from other regions who worked in Florence include Raphael, Andrea Pisano, Giambologna, Il Sodoma and Peter Paul Rubens.

Brunelleschi's dome.

The Uffizi and the Pitti Palace are two of the most famous picture galleries in the world.^[46] Two superb collections of sculpture are in the Bargello and the Museum of the Works of the Duomo. They are filled with the creations of Donatello, Verrochio, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelangelo and others. The Accademia has Michelangelo's David – perhaps the most well-known work of art anywhere, plus the unfinished statues of the slaves Michelangelo created for the tomb of Pope Julius II.^[47][48] Other sights include the medieval city hall, the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as the Palazzo Vecchio), the Archeological Museum, the Museum of the History of Science, the Palazzo Davanzatti, the Stibbert Museum, St. Marks, the Medici Chapels, the Museum of the Works of Santa Croce, the Museum of the Cloister of Santa Maria Novella, the Zoological Museum ("La Specola"), the Bardini, and the Museo Horne. There is also a collection of works by the modern sculptor, Marino Marini, in a museum named after him. The Strozzi Palace is the site of special exhibits.^[49]

Language[link]

Florentine (fiorentino), spoken by inhabitants of Florence and its environs, is a Tuscan dialect and an immediate parent language to modern Italian.

Its vocabulary and pronunciation are largely identical to standard Italian, though the hard c [k] between two vowels (as in ducato) is pronounced as a fricative [h], similar to an English h. This gives Florentines a highly recognizable accent (the so-called gorgia toscana). Other traits include using a form of the subjunctive mood last commonly used in medieval times,^{[citation needed]} a frequent usage in everyday speech of the modern subjunctive, and a shortened pronunciation of the definite article, [i] instead of "il".

Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio pioneered the use of the vernacular^[50] instead of the Latin used for most literary works at the time.

Literature[link]

The introduction of the Decameron (1350–1353) by Giovanni Boccaccio.

Despite Latin being the main language of the courts and the Church, writers such as Dante Alighieri^[50] and many others used their own language, the Florentine dialect, in composing their works. The oldest literary pieces written in vernacular language go as far back as the 13th century. Florence's literature fully blossomed in the 14th century, when not only Dante with his Divine Comedy (1306–1321) and Petrarch, but also poets such as Guido Cavalcanti and Lapo Gianni composed their most important works.^[50] Dante's masterpiece is the Divine Comedy, which mainly deals with the poet himself taking an allegoric and moral tour of Hell, Purgatory and finally Heaven, during which he meets numerous mythological or real characters of his age or before. He is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil, whose non-Christian beliefs damned him to Hell. Later on he is joined by Beatrice, who guides him through Heaven.^[50]

In the 14th century, Petrarch^[51] and Giovanni Boccaccio^[51] led the literary scene in Florence after Dante's death in 1321. Petrarch was an all-rounder writer, author and poet, but was particularly known for his Canzoniere, or the Book of Songs, where he conveyed his unremitting love for Laura.^[51] His style of writing has since become known as Petrarchism.^[51] Boccaccio was better known for his Decameron, a slightly grim story of Florence during the 1350s bubonic plague, known as the Black Death, when some people fled the ravaged city to an isolated country mansion, and spent their time there recounting stories and novellas taken from the medieval and contemporary tradition. All of this is written in a series of 100 distinct novellas.^[51]

In the 16th century, during the Renaissance, Florence was the hometown of political writer and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, whose ideas on how rulers should govern the land, detailed in The Prince, spread across European courts and enjoyed enduring popularity for centuries. These principles became known as Machiavellianism.

Music[link]

This section requires expansion.

Florence became a musical centre during the Middle Ages and music and the performing arts remain an important part of its culture. During the Renaissance there were four kinds of musical patronage in the city with respect to both sacred and secular music: state, corporate, church, and private.^[52] and it was here that the Florentine Camerata convened in the mid-16th century and experimented with setting tales of Greek mythology to music and staging the result—in other words, the first operas, setting the wheels in motion not just for the further development of the operatic form, but for later developments of separate "classical" forms such as the symphony.

Opera was invented in Florence in the late 16th century.^[53]

Composers and musicians who have lived in Florence include Piero Strozzi (1550 – after 1608), Giulio Caccini (1551–1618) and Mike Francis (1961–2009).

Cinema[link]

Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films, such as Light in the Piazza, Calmi Cuori Appassionati, Hannibal, A Room with a View, Tea with Mussolini and Virgin Territory. The city is home to renowned Italian actors and actresses, such as Roberto Benigni, Leonardo Pieraccioni and Vittoria Puccini.

Cuisine[link]

Florentine food grows out of a tradition of peasant eating rather than rarefied high cooking. The majority of dishes are based on meat. The whole animal was traditionally eaten; tripe, (trippa) and (lampredotto) were once regularly on the menu and still are sold at the food carts stationed throughout the city. Antipasti include crostini toscani, sliced bread rounds topped with a chicken liver-based pâté, and sliced meats (mainly prosciutto and salame, often served with melon when in season). The typically saltless Tuscan bread, obtained with natural levain frequently features in Florentine courses, especially in its soups, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro, or in the salad of bread and fresh vegetables called panzanella that is served in summer. The bistecca alla fiorentina is a large (the customary size should weigh around 1200 grams – "40 oz.") – the "date" steak – T-bone steak of Chianina beef cooked over hot charcoal and served very rare with its more recently derived version, the tagliata, sliced rare beef served on a bed of arugula, often with slices of Parmesan cheese on top. Most of these courses are generally served with local olive oil, also a prime product enjoying a worldwide reputation.^[54]

Research activity[link]

UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre

Research institutes and university departments are located within the Florence area and within two campuses at Polo di Novoli and Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino^[55] as well as in the Research Area of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.^[56]

Science and discovery[link]

A display of proboscideans in the Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, or the Natural History Museum of Florence

Florence has been an important scientific centre for centuries, notably during the Renaissance with scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci.

Florentines were one of the driving forces behind the Age of Discovery. Florentine bankers financed Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese explorers who pioneered the route around Africa to India and the Far East. It was a map drawn by the Florentine Paulo del Pozzo Toscanelli, a student of Brunelleschi, that Columbus used to sell his "enterprise" to the Spanish monarchs, and which he used on his first voyage. Mercator's "Projection" is a refined version of Toscanelli's – taking into account the Americas, of which the Florentine was, obviously, ignorant.

Gallileo and other scientists pioneered the study of optics, ballistics, astronomy, anatomy, and so on. Pico della Mirandola, Leonardo Bruni, Machiavelli, and many others laid the groundwork for our understanding of political science.

Fashion[link]

Luxury boutiques along Florence's prestigious Via de' Tornabuoni.

By the year 1300 Florence had become a center of textile production in Europe. Many of the wealthy families in Renaissance Florence were major purchasers of locally produced fine clothing, and the importance of fashion in the economy and culture of Florence during that period is often underestimated.^[57] Florence is regarded by some as the birthplace and earliest center of the modern (post World War Two) fashion industry in Italy. The Florentine "soirées" of the early 1950s organized by Giovanni Battista Giorgini were events where several now-famous Italian designers participated in group shows and first garnered international attention.^[58] Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company Salvatore Ferragamo since 1928. Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Emilio Pucci are also headquartered in Florence. Other major players in the fashion industry such as Prada and Chanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts. Florence's main upscale shopping street is Via de' Tornabuoni, where major luxury fashion houses and jewelry labels, such as Armani and Bulgari, have their elegant boutiques. Via del Parione and Via Roma are other streets that are also well known for their high-end fashion stores.^[59]

Historical evocations[link]

[edit] Scoppio del Carro

The Scoppio del Carro ("Explosion of the Cart") is a celebration of the First Crusade. During the day of Easter, a cart, which the Florentines call the Brindellone and which is led by four white oxen, is taken to the Piazza del Duomo between the Baptistery of St. John the Baptist (Battistero di San Giovanni) and the Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore). The cart is connected by a rope to the interior of the church. Near the cart there is a model of a dove, which, according to legend, is a symbol of good luck for the city: at the end of the Easter mass, the dove emerges from the nave of the Duomo and ignites the fireworks on the cart.

[edit] Calcio Storico

Calcio Storico

Calcio Storico Fiorentino ("Historic Florentine Football"), sometimes called Calcio in costume, is a traditional sport, regarded as a forerunner of soccer, though the actual gameplay most closely resembles rugby. The event originates from the Middle Ages, when the most important Florentine nobles amused themselves playing while wearing bright costumes. The most important match was played on 17 February 1530, during the siege of Florence. That day Papal troops besiged the city while the Florentines, with contempt of the enemies, decided to play the game notwithstanding the situation. The game is played in the Piazza di Santa Croce. A temporary arena is constructed, with bleachers and a sand-covered playing field. A series of matches are held between four teams representing each quartiere (quarter) of Florence during late June and early July.^[60] There are four teams: Azzurri (light blue), Bianchi (white), Rossi (red) and Verdi (green). The Azzurri are from the quarter of Santa Croce, Bianchi from the quarter of Santo Spirito, Verdi are from San Giovanni and Rossi from Santa Maria Novella.

Traditions[link]

The Third Countship of Florence[link]

The four counts and four countesses of Florence have a large but hidden tradition dating back to the early 20th century when a favoured Tuscan family left the city to Malta and the youngest daughter of the family was declared Contessa Morabitto di Florenze Countess Morabitto of Florence. To the present date there are eight members of the countship, six living in Malta, one in England and one living in Italy.

Transport[link]

This section is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2011)

Tramvia route map

Tramway in Florence

Inside Santa Maria Novella railway station

Florence Airport

The principal public transport network within the city is run by the ATAF and Li-nea bus company, with tickets available at local tobacconists, bars and newspaper stalls. Individual tickets or a pass called the Carta Agile with multiple rides (10 or 21) may be used on buses. Once on the bus, tickets must be stamped (or swiped for the Carta Agile) using the machines on board, unlike the train tickets, which must be validated before boarding. The main bus station is next to Santa Maria Novella railway station. Trenitalia runs trains between the railway stations within the city, and to other destinations around Italy and Europe. The central railway station, Santa Maria Novella railway station, is located about 500 metres (1,600 ft) northwest of the Piazza del Duomo. There are two other important stations: Campo Di Marte and Rifredi. Most bundled routes are Firenze-Pisa, Firenze-Viareggio and Firenze-Arezzo (along the main line to Rome). Other local railways connect Florence with Borgo San Lorenzo and Siena.

Long distance 10 km (6.21 mi) buses are run by the SITA, Copit, CAP and Lazzi companies. The transit companies also accommodate travellers from the Amerigo Vespucci Airport, which is five kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the city centre, and which has scheduled services run by major European carriers such as Air France and Lufthansa.

The centre of the city is closed to through-traffic, although buses, taxis and residents with appropriate permits are allowed in. This area is commonly referred to as the ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato), which is divided into five subsections.^{[citation needed]} Residents of one section, therefore, will only be able to drive in their district and perhaps some surrounding ones. Cars without permits are allowed to enter after 7.30 pm, or before 7.30 am. The rules shift during the tourist-filled summers, putting more restrictions on where one can get in and out.

In an effort to reduce air pollution and car traffic in the city, a multi-line tram network called Tramvia is under construction. The first line began operation on 14 February 2010 and connects Florence's primary intercity train station (Santa Maria Novella) with the southwestern suburb of Scandicci. This line is 7.4 kilometers long and has 14 stops. The construction of a second line began on 5 November 2011 with an anticipated completion in 2014. This second line will connect Florence's airport with the city center. A third line has gained governmental approval, but has yet to begin construction.^[61][62][63]

Railway station[link]

Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station is the main national and international railway station in Florence and is used by 59 million people every year.^[64] The building, designed by Giovanni Michelucci, was built in the Italian Rationalism style and it is one of the major rationalist buildings in Italy. It is located in Piazza della Stazione, near the Fortezza da Basso and the Viali di Circonvallazione, and in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella's apse, from which it takes its name.

A new high-speed rail station is under construction and is contracted to be operational by 2015.^[65] It is planned to be connected to Vespucci airport, Santa Maria Novella train station, and the city center by an under-construction line of Florence's streetcar system Tramvia.^[66] The architectural firms Foster + Partners and Lancietti Passaleva Giordo and Associates designed this new rail station.^[67]

Other stations include:

• Firenze Rifredi railway station
• Firenze Campo di Marte railway station
• Firenze Belfiore railway station
• Firenze Cascine railway station
• Firenze Castello railway station
• Firenze Rovezzano railway station
• Firenze San Marco Vecchio railway station
• Firenze Statuto railway station
• Firenze Porta al Prato railway station
• Firenze Le Cure railway station
• Firenze Le Piagge railway station
• Firenze Salviati railway station
• Firenze Piazza Puccini Station

Airport[link]

Florence's "Amerigo Vespucci" is one of two main airports in the Tuscany region, the other being Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa.

Sport[link]

Florence is represented by ACF Fiorentina, who play in Serie A, the top league of Italian football. They play their games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. The city is home of Coverciano, the main training ground of the Italian national team, and the technical department of the Italian Football Federation.

Florence has been selected to host the 2013 UCI World Road Cycling Championships.

Administration[link]

The Mayor of Florence is Matteo Renzi (Democratic Party, elected in June 2009).^[68]

International relations[link]

Twin towns and sister cities[link]

Florence is twinned with:

Partnerships[link]

• Kraków in Poland^[82]

Notable residents[link]

Niccolò Machiavelli

Lorenzo de' Medici

Leonardo da Vinci

• Sir Harold Acton, author and aesthete.
• Leone Battista Alberti, polymath.
• Dante Alighieri, poet.
• Giovanni Boccaccio, poet.
• Baldassarre Bonaiuti, 14th century chronicler
• Sandro Botticelli, painter.
• Aureliano Brandolini, agronomist and development cooperation scholar.
• Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 19th century English poets.
• Filippo Brunelleschi, architect.
• Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, author of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and David.
• Roberto Cavalli, fashion designer.
• Enrico Coveri, fashion designer.
• Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione. Early photographic artist, Secret agent and Courtesan.
• Leonardo da Vinci, polymath
• Giotto di Bondone, early 14th century painter, sculptor and architect.
• Donatello, sculptor.
• Oriana Fallaci, journalist and author.
• Salvatore Ferragamo, fashion designer and shoemaker.
• Frescobaldi Family, notable bankers and wine producers.
• Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, astronomer, and philosopher.
• Lorenzo Ghiberti, sculptor.
• Guccio Gucci, founder of the Gucci label.
• Pietro Pacciani, farmer, starring of the case of the Monster of Florence.
• Robert Lowell, poet.
• Niccolò Machiavelli, poet, philosopher and political thinker, author of The Prince and The Discourses.
• Masaccio, painter.
• Medici family.
• Antonio Meucci, inventor of the telephone.
• Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursing, and a statistician.
• Mike Francis (musician) born Francesco Puccioni, singer and composer
• Raphael, painter.
• Girolamo Savonarola
• Giorgio Vasari, painter, architect, and historian.
• Amerigo Vespucci, explorer and cartographer, namesake of the Americas.

See also[link]

• Buildings and structures in Florence
• Chancellor of Florence
• European University Institute
• Fashion designers of Florence
• Florentine School
• Guilds of Florence
• Historical states of Italy
• List of Florentine churches
• Squares of Florence
• Stendhal syndrome
• University of Florence
• Cronaca fiorentina

References[link]

As of this edit, this article uses content from "Florence", which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.

Sources[link]

• Niccolò Machiavelli. Florentine Histories
• Brucker, Gene A. (1983). Renaissance Florence. 
• Brucker, Gene A. (1971). The Society of Renaissance Florence: A Documentary Study. 
• Chamberlin, Russell (22 May 2008). Travellers Florence & Tuscany, 3rd: Guides to Destinations Worldwide. Thomas Cook Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84157-844-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=sdekGAAACAAJ. Retrieved 11 March 2010. 
• Chaney, Edward(2003), A Traveller's Companion to Florence.
• Goldthwaite, Richard A. (1982). The Building of Renaissance Florence: An Economic and Social History. 
• Hibbert, Christopher (1999). The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall. 
• Lewis, R.W.B. (1996). The City of Florence: Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings. 
• Najemy, John (2006). A History of Florence 1200–1575. 
• Schevill, Ferdinand (1936). History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance. 
• Trexler, Richard C. (1991). Public Life in Renaissance Florence. 
• Ferdinand Schevill, History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance (Frederick Ungar, 1936) is the standard overall history of Florence.

External links[link]

Find more about Florence on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Florence travel guide from Wikitravel
• The High Renaissance in Florence – Video
• The Moscow Florentine Society
• Florence Buildings Art History
• Florence view
• Moving Postcards Florence

v t e World Heritage Sites in Italy North West Crespi d'Adda Genoa Mantua and Sabbioneta Portovenere Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare Vernazza Corniglia Manarola Riomaggiore), Palmaria Tino and Tinetto Residences of the Royal House of Savoy Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes1 Rock Drawings in Valcamonica Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan Monte San Giorgio North East Aquileia Botanical Garden, Padua Cathedral Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena The Dolomites Ferrara Ravenna Venice Verona Vicenza and Palladian Villas of the Veneto Centre Assisi Cerveteri and Tarquinia Florence Hadrian's Villa Piazza del Duomo, Pisa Pienza Rome2 San Gimignano Siena Urbino Val d'Orcia Villa d'Este South Alberobello Amalfi Coast Castel del Monte Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park Paestum and Velia Certosa di Padula Naples Palace of Caserta Aqueduct of Vanvitelli and San Leucio Complex Pompeii Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata Sassi of Matera Islands Aeolian Islands Archaeological Area of Agrigento Barumini nuraghes Syracuse and Necropolis of Pantalica Val di Noto (Caltagirone Militello in Val di Catania Catania Modica Noto Palazzolo Acreide Ragusa Scicli) Villa Romana del Casale Nationwide Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568-774 A.D.) Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps3 1 Shared with Switzerland 2 Shared with the Holy See 3 Shared with Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia, and Switzerland

Tom Sizemore
Born	Thomas Edward Sizemore, Jr. (1961-11-29) November 29, 1961 (age 50) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, producer
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Maeve Quinlan (m. 1996–1999) «start: (1996)–end+1: (2000)»"Marriage: Maeve Quinlan to Tom Sizemore" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Tom_Sizemore)

Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. (born November 29, 1961)^[1] is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Heat, Strange Days, and Pearl Harbor. Sizemore is also known for his supporting roles in well known films such as True Romance, Natural Born Killers, The Relic, Devil in a Blue Dress, and Wyatt Earp.

Early life[link]

Sizemore was born in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Judith (née Schannault), was a member of the city of Detroit ombudsman staff, and his father, Thomas Edward Sizemore, Sr., now retired, was a lawyer and philosophy professor.^[2][3] His family has paternal Welsh and maternal French ancestry. He has three brothers, Charlie, Aaron and Paul, who is also an actor.^[4] Sizemore attended Michigan State University for one year, as well as Wayne State University. He earned a Master's degree in theatre from Temple University in 1986. He subsequently moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.

Career[link]

Acting career[link]

One of Sizemore's earliest film appearances occurred in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July in 1989, followed by roles in Lock Up (1989), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Point Break, True Romance (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Strange Days (1995). Sizemore also starred in the independent drama film Love Is Like That (1993) with actress and model Pamela Gidley. He had a supporting role in Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp as Bat Masterson.

A succession of well-received supporting parts followed, perhaps the most well known being his portrayal of Michael Cheritto as an armed robber in the heist film Heat (1995). His first major leading role was as Vincent D'Agosta in 1997's The Relic. Sizemore had a recurring role on the television series China Beach (1988 to 1991) as an enlisted man named Vinnie who was in love with Dana Delany's character. Sizemore continued to play leading and character parts in many films, notably Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), and Witness Protection (1999).

In the early 2000s, he appeared in actions films such as Pearl Harbor (2001), starring Ben Affleck, and Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2002). He had a voice part as Sonny Forelli in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. In 2001, Sizemore starred in Ticker, an action film directed by Albert Pyun, with Steven Seagal and Dennis Hopper. In 2002, Sizemore starred in the well-reviewed but short-lived television drama series Robbery Homicide Division. It was cancelled mid-way through its first season. He also played an undercover cop in the film Swindle opposite Sherilyn Fenn. In 2004, he starred in Paparazzi.

In 2006, he starred in The Genius Club, playing a terrorist who taunts seven geniuses into solving the world's problems in one night. Also that year, he had a leading role in action/thriller film Splinter with Edward James Olmos. In 2007, the television network VH1 aired a six episode reality TV series called Shooting Sizemore, which depicted the life of the actor as he struggled to regain his career in the midst of a continuing battle with addiction. The series also covered an ongoing legal appeal on his conviction for an assault of former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.^[5] In this year, the actor also starred in the Indie drama film Oranges with Tom Arnold and Jill Hennessy, which was directed by Sirian director and producer Joseph Merhi.

Recently, Sizemore has worked in films that include Red and American Son, both of which were screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. In 2008, Sizemore starred in The Last Lullaby, playing a killer, and appeared also in The Flyboys with Stephen Baldwin, action film Stiletto with Tom Berenger and Michael Biehn, drama film Toxic with Costas Mandylor, and is the star in the Canadian drama A Broken Life with Ving Rhames.

In 2009 he appeared in the comedy film Super Capers. In addition, Sizemore also appeared in five episodes of the TV series Crash with Dennis Hopper. In 2010, Sizemore starred in the indie horror film C.L.A.S.S. which is written by Sheldon Robins, and co-starred with Kyra Sedgwick and Vincent D'Onofrio in drama/comedy film Chlorine.^[6] He also starred alongside martial arts actor Mark Dacascos in the action movie Shadows in Paradise. He also appeared in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Sizemore also appeared alongside the Insane Clown Posse in the comedy film Big Money Rustlas and the drama 513 with Michael Madsen. Sizemore has roles in the upcoming films, the Age of Reason, Suing the Devil and White Knight.

Music[link]

Sizemore fronted the Hollywood rock band Day 8. Formed in 2002, the band recorded a 4-song EP produced and recorded by Bradley Dujmovic and former Snot/Soulfly guitarist Mike Doling. Originally called The Bystanders, the group included guitarist and co-writer Rod Castro, Alan Muffterson, Tyrone Tomke and Michael Taylor.

Personal life[link]

While speaking in an interview about friend Mickey Rourke, Sizemore revealed he is Catholic: "He’s been a good friend. He’s a real good Catholic and I’m Catholic."^[7]

Sizemore married actress Maeve Quinlan in 1996, but divorced in 1999 because she couldn't handle his drug problems. In 2010, Sizemore appeared as a patient/castmember on VH1's 3rd season of Celebrity Rehab.^[8]

Sex tape[link]

On August 18, 2005, approximately eight hours of celebrity sex tape starring Sizemore was published on the internet.^[9] The material has since become available on DVD.

Substance abuse and legal problems[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

Sizemore, who had battled drug addiction since he was 15,^[10] was convicted in 2003 of assault and battery against his girlfriend, the former "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss.^[11] Sizemore was then sentenced to 7 months in jail and four months in drug treatment for repeatedly failing drug tests while on probation on March 25, 2005.^[12] Sizemore was caught attempting to fake the urine test using a Whizzinator.^[13][14][15] Fleiss' restraining order against him had lapsed by the time they appeared together in the third season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2010.^[16]

On May 8, 2007, while still on probation for a previous drug conviction, Sizemore was arrested outside the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Bakersfield, California for possession of methamphetamines.^[17] Police found what appeared to be two drug bags under 1 gram in weight of methamphetamine and three glass pipes used for inhaling methamphetamines that were coated with drug residue inside his 2004 Ford Mustang. On June 25, Sizemore was sentenced to 16 months in prison. The sentence was reduced to nine months because Sizemore already served 213 days in county jail unable to post bail. On March 27, 2009, Sizemore avoided jail-time in the above case for an alleged probation violation.

On May 28, 2009, Sizemore was arrested in Los Angeles on an outstanding warrant for drug charges. Sizemore and a friend were questioned by police and an outstanding $25,000 warrant for Sizemore was discovered. Sizemore did not have any narcotics in his possession, but was arrested on the outstanding 2007 warrant; he was later released.

Sizemore had been approached to appear in the first season of the reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, but declined. He met with Dr. Drew Pinsky about appearing in the second season, sitting in Pinsky's office for two hours, as Pinsky recounted, "sweating and completely high on drugs, talking a million miles an hour, acting like he was going to do it then deciding he didn’t want to." Sizemore ultimately decided to appear in Season 3, but did not appear in the season premiere, forcing Pinsky's colleague Bob Forrest to seek him out. Because Heidi Fleiss was also in treatment on the show that season, both she and Sizemore had to consent to appear together. While the season premiered in January 2010, Sizemore's arrival at the clinic was chronicled in the third episode, and his reunion with Fleiss was amicable.^[16] Yet, by the season's end, it was Heidi who, at their graduation ceremony, lashed out against Sizemore, taunting him that "the thought of being with [him] would turn women gay...it really would." After they received their coins, both Tom and Heidi agreed to Sober House treatment. During a guest appearance on the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab, a healthy-looking Sizemore praised Dr. Drew and his program, stating he has been sober for fourteen months.

Filmography[link]