When In Florence... Ponte Vecchio

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The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is one of the most famous bridges in the world and also one of the most romantic tourist attractions in one of the most romantic cities in the world: Florence.

Before the stone Ponte Vecchio in Florence was constructed, a wooden bridge had already been in existence at the same spot since the 11th century, and in a 996 document an even earlier version of the bridge is mentioned. In those days this was the spot where the Via Cassia crossed the river.

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The Ponte Vecchio was built in 1345 and, after having survived floods and wars, is now the oldest bridge in Florence. Even in 1944, when Florence was bombed by the Nazis, the Old Bridge was not attacked. When the Germans had to withdraw to the north Hitler had all other bridges destroyed, but the Ponte Vecchio closed off at both ends using rubble from the other bridges.

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When in Florence... Ponte Vecchio

"What really makes the Ponte Vecchio unique is the fact that there are buildings lining both sides of the bridge itself." Hotels in Florence: Choose your budget, the area of Firenze you wish to stay in and type of accommodation (hotel or B&B), and you will get a list of available properties. On-line reservation. Hotel reviews facilitate your choice.

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What really makes the Ponte Vecchio unique is the fact that there are buildings lining both sides of the bridge itself. Originally these were mostly butcher shops, but these used to dump their offal into the Arno and towards the end of the 16th century got moved from the Ponte Vecchio. From that moment on only jewelry shops were allowed on the Ponte Vecchio.

The bust in the middle of the bridge is Benito Cellini, one of Florence's most famous goldsmiths.

Nowadays there are obviously a lot of souvenir shops to be found among the upmarket jewelry stores.

In 1966, a year of an abundance of rain, and many floods, many valuable objects ended up in the river Arno.

There are 43 winkels on the bridge, which consists of three arches.
The Corridoio Vasariano (Vasari Hall) that runs over the medievil shops was built in 1565 as a private road for the Grand Dukes who wanted to go from the Palazzo della Signoria and the Uffizi to the Palazzo Pitti.

The central part of Ponte Vecchio has openings on both sides that allow magnificent views over the river Arno and the majestic buildings along its banks.

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When in Florence... New Year on March 25th

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The Florentine New Year is celebrated on March 25th at the Church and Piazza SS Annunziata.

The feast begins in the morning, in the Palazzo Vecchio, with a street parade with medieval dress and music. Hereafter, form 9am until 5pm a market takes place at the Piazza SS Annunziata, followed by concert.

From 1250 to 1750 the people of Florence gathered in the SS Annunziata to welcome the arrival of spring and to celebrate the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to be the mother of Christ.

The fresco of the Annunciation on the inner wall to the left of the entrance was the centerpiece of the New Year festivities. According to legend its painter fell asleep with the painting almost finished. When he woke up the Virgin mary's face had been added, by angels.

As a result, the Florentines refused to accept the Gregorian calendar year that begins on January 1, and even now the New Year is still unofficially observed on March 25, nine months before Christmas and the birth of Christ.

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When in Florence... Fiorentina At Home

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The professional football (soccer) team in Florence is called Fiorentina and is, thanks to its coach Prandelli one of the most interesting teams of the Serie A.

Fiorentina's stadium is called Artemio Franchi and from Santa Maria Novello can be reached using bus number 52. You can also take a train to the Campo di Marte railway station and then walk the last bit.

A word of warning: Campo di Marte is also the station where visiting supporters arrive. These are not always peaceful, so maybe it is better to opt for the slower bus route.

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When in Florence... Bus Tickets

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A single bus ticket costs 1 Euro and entitles you to one hour of public transportation in Florence.

Agile is what the ATAF smart card is called: a chip for a number of 1 Euro tickets: For 10 Euros you receive 12 tickets that are valid for 1 hour and for 20 Euros you get 25.

The Agile pass can be used by more people and, like the normal tickets, is for sale at tobacco shops and newspaper kiosks. Remember that you need to validate your ticket in the yellow machines when entering the bus. If you fail to do so and a conductor ask for your ticket you can get a huge fine.

You are supposed to enter through the buses' front and rear doors and exit through the middle doors only. Sometimes drivers are slightly overzealous and won't let you get off at one of the other doors.

More information about buses in Florence.

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When in Florence... ATAF local buses

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The office of ATAF (Azienda Trasporti Area Fiorentina), Florence's local bus company, is in the Via dei Mille, 115.

Here local Florence bus tickets and a bus map called REDE can be bought.

ATAF also has a website with information in English showing all the Florence bus lines.

The information given is not always very trustworthy though, since traffic in Florence can be quite busy and play havoc with these schedules.

The buses start driving at 5.30 am and go on until 1am the next day.

ATAF also has a number of smaller electric buses that can enter Florence's narrower streets, there where the normal sized buses would get stuck.

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When in Florence... Hop On Hop Off City Tour

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The Florence "Hop-on-Hop-off" tourist bus stops are : Stazione FS - Martelli - San Marco - Colonna - Beccaria - Tintori - Zecca Vecchia - Piazzale - Galileo - Machiavelli - Porta Romana - San Felice - Tornabuoni - Antinori - Unita.

The price of a ticket is 20 Euros (10 Euros only for children), is valid for 24 hours. You can get off and on at any of the stops.

During the high season the hop on hop off-buses leave every 30 minutes from 9am till 7pm and once every hour between 7 and 11pm. In winter they only go until 7pm.

An audio-tour is included.

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When in Florence... Visiting surroundings by coach

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There are 4 different coach companies allowing you to visit the rest of Tuscany with Florence as your home base. SITA visits Siena (see below), the other 3 companies are:

LAZZI connects Florence with the areas north and west of the Tuscan capital. They have an office on the Piazza della Stazione (next to a pornographic cinema).

COPIT has coaches to Pistoia and Abertone, a small ski-resort one hour from Florence.
CAP (www.capautolinee.it) connects Florence with Mugello and has an office on Largo Fratgelli Alinari, 9.
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When in Florence... SITA bus to Siena

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The SITA company supplies a reliable connection to Siena and San Gimignano from Firenze.

The SITA bus station and office is only a short walk from Florence's main railway station Santa Maria Novella in the Via di Santa Caterina di Siena. You can buy your ticket there and there is a waiting room where you can have a cup of coffee.

In Siena the bus station is situated on the Piazza Gramsci near the Jolly Hotel. The RAPIDO bus does not stop along the way to Siena, the normal buses follow a slower, but very picturesque route.

From Siena there is a connection to San Gimignano and from there you can take a bus back to Florence (This usually requires that you change buses in Poggibonsi).

Some other, smaller towns are also served by the SITA buses.

Website: www.sita.it.
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When in Italy... Pisa's Galileo Galilei Airport to Florence

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From Pisa's Galileo Galilei Airport the coach company Terravision provides buses to Florence that connect to every incoming RyanAir flight.

The ride to Santa Maria Novella takes around 70 minutes during day time and slightly less at night, when traffic is less intense.

Tickets for the Terravision buses from Pisa to Firenze can be bought during the flight, but also from the driver of the shuttle bus itself. On the RyanAir website a link to the Terravision bus company can be found.

After Santa Maria Novello the bus continues to Florence's own Vespucci Airport.

Both from Galileo Galilei Airport and from Pisa's main railway station there are trains to Florence.

The price is the same, both coach and train cost 5 Euros to the center of Florence, but the coach tends to travel faster.

A disadvantage of traveling by coach is that Terravision is a commercial company and it will not drive off if every seat on the bus is not taken.

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When in Florence, Italy.. Santa Maria Novella

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There are 3 railway stations in Florence, but the central station is called Santa Maria Novella, indicated as Firenze SMN on train schedules.

Santa Maria Novella is easy to navigate and very clean, especially for a train station in Italy. The center of Florence can easily be reached from Santa Maria Novella, on foot as well as by using city buses.

Train tickets can be bought at the regular ticket office, but also from vending machines that give information in several languages including English.

The information office can be found on the left after you have entered the station through the main entrance. English is spoken at the information office.

There is a taxi stand near the central station and many city buses have their first and last stops at Santa Maria Novella. Over het algemeen spreekt men hier ook Engels.

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When in Florence, Italy... Arriving By Train

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Santa Maria Novella is een redelijk belangrijk spoorwegknooppunt op de Rome-Milano lijn en vanaf hier is het makkelijk met de Eurostar of Intercity treinen naar deze en andere grote toeristische steden te reizen. Met de Eurostar bent U bijvoorbeeld in iets meer dan anderhalf uur in Rome.

Voor deze Eurostar treinen is een reservering verplicht. Voor de iets langzamere Intercity treinen is reserveren niet verplicht, maar wel aan te bevelen. Voor alle andere treinen is reserveren onmogelijk.

Ook de trein van Venetië naar Rome stopt in Firenze SMN. Kleinere Toscaanse steden zoals Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo en Siena zijn vanaf Florence makkelijk met trein en/of bus te bereiken.

Florence heeft ook twee kleinere stationnetjes, Campo di Marte en Statuto.

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