Florence: Hotels and Pensions.
FLORENCE, on the Arno, pop. 169,000. [Hotels and Apartments:] On the right or north side of the Arno, the Grand Hôtel Royal de la Paix; de la Ville; Grand Hôtel d’Italie; Washington; Grand Hôtel Nueva York; Gran Bretagna; del Arno; and just behind the Paix, the Russie. All these hotels have a south exposure, and are greatly run after in winter. Charge from 10 to 16 frs. per day, according to the room. The following charge from 9 to 13 frs., and are situated in the new streets a little way back from the Arno, and near the Cascine or Park of Florence (north-west side of plan):—Hôtel and Pension Corona d’Italia, Via Montebello; Hôtel and Pension Iles Britanniques in No. 42; and Hôtel and Pension Venise in No. 33 Via della Scala. In the Iles Britanniques are also furnished apartments at from 250 frs. to 400 frs. per month. Hôtel and Pension Couronne d’Angleterre, Via Solferino; Hôtel and Pension Anglo-Americain, Via Garibaldi; and the Universo in the Corso Vitt. Emmanuele. In the busy parts of the town, and charging rather less than the above, the Hôtel Milan No. 12 Via Cerretani; Hôtel and Pension Angleterre, Via Panzani; and at No. 21 of same street, Hôtel Bonciani, with front also to the Piazza S. Maria Novella. Near the bridge La Santa Trinitá, and in the Via Tornabuoni are the Europe and Nord. In the Via Porta Rossa the Hôtel Porta Rossa; in the Via della Spada the Ville de Paris; in the Via Condotta, La Luna; in the Piazza S. Maria Novella (near the station) Hôtel Roma; Minerva; Bonciani, with furnished apartments; and by the side of the station, La Posta and Rebecchino. In the Piazza Maria Novella there are omnibuses for Sesto Fiorentino and a large cab-stand. Conveniently situated for visiting the sights, and not expensive (from 7 to 9 frs. per day), are the H. d’Espagne above the Restaurant Etruria and the Etoile d’Italie in the V. Calzaioli. Pension Suisse, Via Tornabuoni; Le Phœnix, Via dei Martelli; Lion Blanc (in which also single rooms are let), Via Vigna Nuova; Cavour, Via del Proconsolo; Commerce, Piazza di S. Maria Novella; Hôtel and Pension Rudolfo, Via della Scala. Furnished apartments all over the town. Just outside the Porta Romana, in the Viale Petrarcha, furnished apartments cost from 250 to 400 frs. the month. The most expensive as well as the most fashionable are those situated on the right bank of the Arno; but in the streets a little way back from the Arno apartments can be had for less. It is of very great importance in winter to have
bedrooms with a south exposure. Those with a north exposure feel cold even on a sunny day. People who take furnished rooms can dine at very moderate rates in restaurants, such as the Toscana or the Etruria, both in the Via Calzaioli. Best money-changers and restaurants in the Via Calzaioli, between the Piazza della Signoria and del Duomo. Fioravanti and Co., 5 Via Cerretani, change circular notes as well.
Protestant Churches.—American Church, 17 Via dei Serragli; American Episcopal, 11 Piazza del Carmine; English Episcopal, 5 Via del Maglio; Scotch Church, 11 Lungarno Guicciardini.
[Cab Tariff.]—The course, 1 fr.; night (between 7 P.M. to 6 A.M.), 1 fr. 30 c. Time, first half-hour, 1 f. 30 c.; every successive half-hour, 70 c. Large trunks, 50 c.; portmanteau, 25 c. Omnibuses run between the Piazza della Signoria and the old city gates. Fare, 10 c.; Sundays, 15 c.
[ Florence: Hints and Directions.]
Best maps of Italy and of the environs of Florence at the office of the Topografico Militare, No. 8 Via Sapienza, near the Annunziata. Best plans of the town published by Pineider, in the Piazza della Signoria, and Bettini, No. 12 Via Tornabuoni. They also publish excellent little guides to Florence, with complete catalogues of all the pictures and statues in the various museums and churches. Pineider’s is published in English likewise, and costs only a franc. They have a similar one for Rome. For the investigation and study of art in Florence, see the works, Walks in Florence by Susan and Joanna Horner, 2 vols., Isbister and Co., London, and volume 3 of Hare’s Cities of Italy.
It is fatiguing, and unwise in those who are not students, to wander into every part of Florence to gaze upon every picture and every figure by a great master. The best are all in a few places, which, fortunately, are near each other. For oil-paintings the combined galleries of the Uffizi and Pitti are sufficient. In them the most important room is the [Tribuna] (p. 238), containing the concentrated excellence of both galleries in painting and antique sculpture. Besides what are in the Tribuna, Raphael has eleven pictures in the Pitti, of which the most famous is No. 266 in the Stanza dell’ Educazione di Giove (see [p. 244]). Michael Angelo’s finest sculpture is in the new sacristy of San Lorenzo (see [p. 265]), but the best collection of his works is in the National Museum (see [p. 261]). His David is in the Accademia delle Belle Arti (see [p. 272]). In the National Museum is the best collection of sculpture by great Italian Artists, such as Michael Angelo, G. Bologna, Luca and Andrea della Robbia, Ghiberti; Brunelleschi, Donatello, Pisano,
Benvenuto Cellini, Rossi, Mino da Fiesole, and Verrochino, chiefly in the first and sixth rooms of the first floor, and in the sixth room of the second floor. Of the churches, the most important are the Duomo or Cathedral, the Baptistery and Campanile, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo (but particularly the Sagrestia Nuova and the Cappella dei Principi, attached to St. Lorenzo), S. Maria Novella, and the Annunziata. They are open from early in the morning till mid-day, and again from three till six. The best specimens of fresco painting are in the churches and their cloisters. Remarkable ancient frescoes in the [Brancacci chapel] of Del Carmine (page 252). Best painting by Cimabue, a Madonna, executed in 1240, in the [Rucellai chapel] of S. Maria Novella (page 268). Best frescoes by D. Ghirlandaio on the chancel or recess occupied by the high altar in [S. Maria Novella] (page 268). Best frescoes of A. del Sarto in the [narthex of the Annunziata] (page 269). Best frescoes of Giotto in the first and second chapels of [S. Croce] (page 260). Of the palaces the best are the [Palazzo Vecchio] (page 274), [Palazzo Strozzi] (page 275), and the [Palazzo Corsini] (page 275). The best view of Florence is from the top of the dome; the ascent is very easy. The pleasantest drive, with views, is to the Piazza Michel Angiolo, by the Porta Romana and the Boulevards Machiavelli, Galileo, and Michel Angiolo ([page 249]), studded with handsome villas.
Florence: Piazza della Signoria. Loggia dell’ Orcagna.