Medieval Tour of Florence

Tour Details

THE MEDIEVAL TOUR OF FLORENCE: NOT JUST RENAISSANCE

The Medieval Tour of Florence will let you discover the most ancient soul of this city: the guilds, the tower-houses and Dante, father of the Italian language. We will see its towers, the medieval Palazzo Davanzati, and Dante Alighieri’s neighborhood and house. This is a tour for those who want to get to know Florence a bit better, instead of only scratching the surface. It’s highly recommended for children and families. Florence is widely known as the cradle of the Renaissance. However, it is in the Middle Ages that the base for the flowering of the Renaissance art in the 15th century was laid. How was the life of a medieval merchant? Did people live with all the comforts of our modern houses? How long people could expect to live in world dominated by pestilence, war and food shortages?

MEDIEVAL TOUR OF FLORENCE: DAVANZATI PALACE

Firstly, we will tour together Palazzo Davanzati. It houses the Museum of the Old Florentine House. In the in the past it was the residence of the rich merchants Davanzati. Thanks to the Medieval Tour of Florence, we will discover the medieval way of life, when the houses were tower-shaped and therefore not very comfortable. At the time strolling along the streets was unsafe. The windows were not covered with glass and only the rich families could afford a well. A visit to Davanzati Palace is a proper jump back in time!  Walking along the narrow streets around Piazza della Repubblica, we can find the seat of some guilds by looking at the names of the streets! Why don’t you combine this with the Tour of the Artisans of Florence, so I can take you to Orsanmichele, the Guilds’ church?

DANTE ALIGHIERI’S HOUSE

This is the area where this great poet lived. In the small Santa Margherita dei Cerchi church he married Gemma Donati, and this is also where his beloved Beatrice Portinari was buried. During the fights between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, Florence was not a safe place and this is why many fortress-like houses were built. Indeed, the tower-houses served as a defense. When a family fell into disgrace, there were some people, known as the Buonomini (the Good Men), ready to help. We will see how all this happened in the Oratorio dei Buonomini (the Oratory of the Good Men). The Casa di Dante Museum is a historical reconstruction of the house of the Supreme Poet. Here, we can learn about who Dante was as a man, soldier, politician, and poet, as well as what Florence was like in the Middle Ages.