FLORA 



2211 



FLORENCE 



from its original channel. The Rhine, Nile, 

 Po and the Ganges are remarkable for their 

 flood plains, but in none of these cases is the 

 action of the river in forming them so clear as 

 in the Mississippi. 



FLO'RA, in Roman mythology, the goddess 

 of springtime and flowers, whose temple at 

 Rome was located near the Circus Maximus. 

 Her annual festival, called the Floralia, began 

 April 28 and lasted for six days, and was char- 

 acterized by excessive hilarity and abandon. 

 She is represented in art as a flower-bedecked 

 and beautiful maiden, usually holding a cornu- 

 copia. 



In botany the word flora signifies all the 

 plant life of a region, as fauna signifies the ani- 

 mal life. 



FLORENCE, flawr' ens, famed as the center 

 of Italian culture when it was at the height of 

 its glory, is one of the world's most interesting 

 cities. It is situated in Central Italy, at the 

 base of the Apennine Mountains, 140 miles 

 northwest of Rome, and is built on both banks 

 of the winding Arno, whose fertile valley, 

 covered with vineyards, groves and orchards, 

 affords the city an ideal location. Florentines 

 call it Firenze la Bella ("Florence the Beauti- 

 ful"), but it might also be called the "City of 

 Famous Men," for with its wonderful past are 

 connected the names of Dante, Petrarch and 

 Boccaccio; of Cimabue, Ghirlandaio, Andrea 

 del Sarto, Filippo Lippi and Leonardo da Vinci, 

 the painters; of Michelangelo, Luca della Rob- 

 bia, Donatello, Ghiberti and Cellini, the sculp- 

 tors; of Brunelleschi, the architect; of Machia- 

 velli, the statesman; of Galileo, the philos- 

 opher; of Savonarola, the theologian; of Amer- 

 icus Vespucius, the navigator; of Lorenzo de' 

 Medici, patron of art and literature, and of 

 many others, sons of Florence either by birth 

 or by adoption. 



Famous Structures. The view of Florence 

 from the Viale dei Colli (Road of the Hills), 

 a magnificent carriage-way passing along the 

 hills to the south, is one of striking beauty. 

 Perhaps first to attract attention would be the 

 three buildings in the Piazza Duomo (Cathe- 

 dral Square) the beautiful Cathedral of Saint 

 Mary of the Flower, the graceful Campanile, 

 or bell tower, of Giotto, and the historic eight- 

 sided Baptistery, with Ghiberti's wonderful 

 bronze doors. The Arno, dividing the city into 

 unequal parts, is spanned by six bridges, four 

 of which are old stone structures in the medi- 

 eval style. The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) 

 is of particular interest, because its thorough- 



fare is still bordered with quaint, rambling 

 houses of the goldsmiths, built in the Middle 

 Ages. It has an upper passageway connecting 

 the city's two famous art palaces the Uffizi 

 and the Pitti. Another structure of special 

 interest is the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), 

 once the seat of government of the republic 

 of Florence, and now containing the city's 

 government offices. This is an imposing build- 

 ing surmounted by a lofty tower, the great 

 bell of which was once used to warn the people 

 of danger. Many churches and palaces asso- 

 ciated with memories of the old days are still 

 in use, and so, too, is the old monastery of San 

 Marco, of which Savonarola was prior. 



Art Treasures. The art of Florence held a 

 supreme position among the schools of the 

 Italian Renaissance, and the great Pitti and 

 Uffizi palaces (each described in these volumes 

 under its title) contain collections of priceless 

 value. In the Church of San Lorenzo may be 

 seen the famous statues over the tombs of 

 Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici, the work of 

 Michelangelo. There are reproductions of 

 these in plaster in the Art Institute of Chicago. 

 The city's oldest church, Santa Maria Novella, 

 contains paintings by Cimabue and frescoes 

 by Filippo Lippi and Ghirlandaio, and the 

 famous angel figures executed by Fra Angelico 

 are on the walls of the monastery of San 

 Marco. One of the most notable of the artistic 

 treasures of Florence is the dome of the great 

 Cathedral. This was so much admired by 

 Michelangelo that he used it as a model for 

 that of Saint Peter's at Rome. The church 

 contains sculptures by Ghiberti, Luca della 

 Robbia, Michelangelo and other famous art- 

 ists. Among other celebrated works are the 

 tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Gali- 

 leo, in the Church of Santa Croce (Holy 

 Cross). Here, too, is the empty sepulcher of 

 Dante. 



History. Florence was probably founded as 

 a Roman colony late in the second century B. c. 

 During the Middle Ages it became a prosper- 

 ous commercial city, and the headquarters of 

 money-changers, jewelers and goldsmiths. Be- 

 tween 1282 and 1530 a republican form of 

 government was maintained, and at various 

 times powerful merchant guilds or wealthy 

 families were at the head of affairs. The fa- 

 mous family of the Medici continued in power 

 from 1434 until 1737. After the fall of the 

 republic a ducal government was established 

 by Emperor Charles V, one of the Medicis 

 being created Duke of Florence. In 1569 Flor- 



