About Florence in taly

It is said that Rome, Florence, Venice and Naples are 4 pearls of human art shining in the culture of Italy even the western world.

　　Florence, the capital of Italy from 1865 to 1870, is on the Middle Plain of Italy. It gave birth to the Renaissance. It is also one of the places where various art works of the Renaissance are preserved. Well, where people focus on the essence of the matter but not phenomena. Florence gives priority to men, and regards men as the most important. It appreciates men's wisdom, men's spirit, men's creativity, men's career and achievements.

　　People mainly plant olive trees and grape wines in suburban area, as it's a city near Mediterranean. It has mild temperature and the rainfall is moderate. as a paradise of literature and art, there are more than 40 museums , galleries, and 60 palaces in Florence city. All of those are invaluable sources in researching into the Renaissance. Thus, Florence is honored "Western Athens".

　　Ok, let's turn to our point. One of the most famous ancient architectures in urban area is the Florence Cathedral. It's the third biggest church in Europe. Just after St.Peter church in Vatican city and St.paul church in London.

　　Does anyone here know what is the meaning of "Florence" in Italian? Well, it means virgin. Therefore, the Florence Cathedral is also called "virgin Maria Cathedral". This Cathie cathedral is an octagon. The outer wall is made of tri-color marble produced in this city. Look at this exclusive delicate bronze relief gate. Can you find out any more quaint one? Absolutely not. And what is more, this giant dome symbolized the beginning of architecture history of the Renaissances. Due to technological problems, the whole project wasn't finished until the early 15th century.

　　There is a Marble Bell Tower which lies to the southwest of the Florence Cathedral. The 89 meters tall building was designed by Grotto. Just stand there, you can have a bird's view over the whole city. It is terrific, isn't it? To the opposite of the Cathedral, there is a Baptist Hall. It is the first public architecture besides churches in the world. The Heaven Gate there attracts millions of tourists every year. Cathedral, Bell Tower and Baptist Hall make up a harmony architecture group. This is a general model for Italian cities.

　　Out of the Florence Cathedral, we'll reach the Piazza Annunziata. It's a square where the 13th century-built Municipal Administrative Hall is located. Various bronze statues and stone carvings are placed here and they make a street museum. In the center of this square, there is the Neptune Fountain, which can show us Italian ambition of the marine supremacy.

　　Sangria river goes through the urban area and the Old Bridge connects two world famous galleries: Vffizi and Petti. You can find essences of Italian paintings here. It consists of Raphael Santi's. the picture of Virgin Mary, Titian's Florla and Birth of Venus of Botticelli.

　　Florence is the cradle of Italian poem and painting during the Renaissance years.

　　Having talked so much about the architecture, maybe you already feel boring. Next we'll move to the people. As saying goes: great people built great cities.

　　Florence is the birth place of Dante. Petraroh and Boccaccio. The stone bridge I just mentioned is said to be the place where Dante and his lover first met with each other. And the St. Cross church, many historical figures such as Galileo and Rossini were buried there. As most of you here are English major, I'm gonna raise a question, who gives the name of nowadays the richest country-America. Maybe it is a surprise to you all. A Florence citizen again. His name is Ameriga-Vispouch. He has sailed to American continent for 3 times. In order to memorize his great contribution to this continent, America is named after him.

　　Well, listen,…How can I forget the Florence Football Team? Millions of boys are crazy about it. Our Chinese national football team also did a good job last year. Maybe one day we will see a football match between these two teams.

　　Ok. Having heard so much from me, do you feel a little bit tired? Or maybe hungry. Why not have a try of Florence big steak. It's world famous, you know. But this kind of steak is about 2 kilograms. You'd better share it with your friends.

　　In these several minutes, we reviewed the history of Florence. We appreciate its charms as if we had been with it for 2 centuries. At each moment, we got surprise, excitement and at last admire. And what will Florence tomorrow be. Let's wait and see!