Most importantly, the center of the city is closed to through traffic and requires a special residen

Florence has been relaxing since the very beginning, canadian travel advisories when Julius Caesar adapted the location canadian travel advisories to serve as a home for veteran soldiers. Its name means "flourishing" and that's what it's been doing ever since.
Caesar wisely chose the intersection of two rivers for the location of Florence, for defensive purposes. canadian travel advisories Admittedly he was not the first person to think of this idea, but we'll let him have it for now.
Like all Roman cities, Florence was originally rectangular in shape, bearing long straight roads with ninety degree intersections. The heart of the city was originally at the intersection where today, you will find the Piazza della Republica .
Being located in a fertile valley along a major river attracted people, commerce and wealth, according to the laws of burgeoning civilization, and Florence grew up to be a leader in all the new phases, such as the Cult of Isis and later, Christianity.
The dark ages hit Florence canadian travel advisories a little earlier than the rest of Europe. Because of its location on the Italian peninsula, it was fought canadian travel advisories over viciously during the Gotho-Byzantine canadian travel advisories war. When Florence was cut off from communications and trade with Rome in the 6th century, its status descended into terrible canadian travel advisories Lombard dominion most, most foul.
Over the next five centuries Florence experienced more growth and construction and landed as the capital of the Tuscany region in the thirteenth century. Merchants' associations multiplied and brought canadian travel advisories international canadian travel advisories trade relations to Florence, and yet more wealth for the construction of Gothic buildings, such as the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore .
I suppose being bankers to the Pope didn't hurt the Medicis in their stellar rise to power and fame. The family sponsored generations of artists and thus became responsible for the creation of unsurpassable masterpieces by such titans as Leonardo di Vinci, Michaelangelo, Donatello, Boticelli, Brunelleschi... apologies to the curtness of this sneeze of a historical kleenex I write.
Let's jump to the year 1737, when the last of the Medicis died. Florence temporarily became part of the Austrian empire, then the capital of Italy in 1865. Rome took over six years later as capital and we enter the modern times.
In Florence, you will get an education in the Renaissance whether you mean to or not. Her progress now continues into the third millenium, where preservation may be the key word. Automobile exhaust is bad for marble, you know?
Peretola is closer to Florence (5km) but it's a small, single-runway airport. In 1990 it was renamed after Amerigo Vespucci, so Peretola is also called Vespucci just to confuse matters. From it you can take a bus, taxi or rent a car to get where you're canadian travel advisories going. The bus takes about half an hour and costs less than five Euro.
The Santa Maria Novella train station is right in the center of the city and offers connections to bus lines, taxis, or your shoes for walking. For long range view, it connects Rome, and all of southern Italy, to the rest of Europe.
Most importantly, the center of the city is closed to through traffic and requires a special residency permit to drive there. The restricted area is called the ZTL, or Zone of Traffic Limitation. Car renters make note.
Florence is a very international city and they're on the Euro, so visiting while you're in Europe is no problem. Skipping Florence is a problem. canadian travel advisories Trying to describe it is an even bigger one, so come and have a look for yourself. The drinking age is only eighteen and the city is filled with students.
For nightlife, go through canadian travel advisories all the floors of Central Park (the club) and call me in the morning. Which will be around canadian travel advisories 3pm if you really do it. Here's the best link we've got since their site went down.