FLOATING THROUGH TIME

At sunset, when the harsh light of day fades into soft pinkish hues and Florence is tinged with the warm glow of late afternoon, relax and unwind on a promenade through the city centre followed by an evening boat ride along the River Arno. Your guide will make sure you experience the very best of Florence’s sights and iconic monuments while filling you in on their history and recounting lively anecdotes about the places you pass.

In Piazza del Duomo, the city’s religious heart, you will admire three splendid buildings: the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence’s most famous landmark and an astonishing feat of engineering; Giotto’s Bell Tower, a fine example of Gothic architecture; the Baptistery, the city’s oldest religious site where poet Dante Alighieri himself was baptized. As you wander through the square, you will discover how architect Filippo Brunelleschi, back in the 15th century, built the largest masonry dome still in existence and hear about the competition for the creation of a bronze door that, according to tradition, marked the beginning of the Renaissance era in 1401.

Gripping tales of capture, conspiracy and coups await you in Piazza della Signoria. The square is dominated by the towering Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of political power and intrigue for over seven hundred years. Here, in the out-door sculpture gallery of the Loggia dei Lanzi, you will come face to face with Greek heroes Hercules and Perseus, brought vividly to life on the cusp of their triumphs by Giambologna and Benvenuto Cellini.

Next, reach the banks of the Arno and hop aboard a traditional Florentine barchetto. These historical gondola-like wooden boats were once used by the Renaioli workers to extract sand and gravel from the riverbed, materials which would later be used to make bricks for the construction of the city’s walls and palazzi. Until World War II the Arno offered very different sights from those that can be admired today. Far from being a quiet, peaceful corner, its banks were a tumult of activity and an essential component of city life, attracting a bustling working community of fishermen, launderers, dyers, wool workers and sand diggers. Today the Arno is no longer navigable and the only boats allowed in its waters are the very few surviving barchetti recovered from the bottom of the river where they had sunk more than 50 years ago. After being restored these boats were born again and now allow visitors to enjoy an authentic Florentine experience as they sail through the mists of time.

Cruise smoothly along the Arno’s calm waters and soak up Florence’s beauties as they gleam in the mellow light of the setting sun. You will have the opportunity to admire the city from a different perspective, glimpse details that can only be caught from the water and get a feel for how the landscape has changed over the centuries. You will drift by a secret passageway, glide beneath a seven-hundred-year-old bridge, float past an enchanting church and lap up views of Florence’s most sumptuous residences.