Florence Outside the City Walls
Museo Stibbert
Particularly interesting are the rooms dedicated to the Orient and the salone della cavalcata (ride room), on the ground floor; on the first floor, there are the rooms dedicated to Japan and to costumes. The collection of costumes is one of the richest in Europe and features wonderful and extremely rare pieces. In the museum an interesting collection of clocks and watches, combs, fans and umbrellas is to be admired.
At the end of the visit, stroll in the gorgeous park of the villa, with its Egyptian and Greek templets and the greenhouse full of rare exotic plants.
The Fortezza da Basso, or of San Giovanni, was designed Antonio da Sangallo the Young on the behalf of Alessandro de’ Medici. The pentagonal building was more a refuge for the city governors in case of internal uprisings than a defensive bastion in case of external attacks. Today the Fortezza da Basso is an important exhibit centre.
The Russian-Orthodox church in Via Leone X was built at the beginning of the 20th century thanks mainly to the donations by the Demidoff family. The church was consecrated in 1905. Its Russian-style, polychrome-clay domes characterize Florence skyline. The interior is rich in stuccos, reliefs and icons. The Carrara-marble iconostasis is a donation of Tsar Nicholas II.
Giuseppe Poggi designed Piazza della Libertŕ when Florence was the capital of Italy. Along with the viali di circonvallazione (ring boulevards), the square was part of a project for the modernization of the city. At the centre of the square there is Porta San Gallo (San Gallo gate), a structure dating back to 1285. The gate tabernacles are decorated with 15th-century lions. The lunette is frescoed with a Madonna with Child and Saints.
On the opposite side of the square there is the Arch of Triumph of Francis Stephen of Lorraine. An equestrian statue by G. B. Foggini surmounts the arch, which was erected in 1739 to celebrate the arrival of the Lorraine, the new governors of Florence after the death of the last representative of the Medici family.
In Via San Salvi there is San Michele a San Salvi, which includes the monastery of San Salvi and the church of San Michele a San Salvi. Andrea del Sarto frescoed the refectory in 1527 with a Cenacolo (Last Supper) – hence the name of the museum created in the ‘80s, housing works by Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo and Vasari.
The last halt of the itinerary outside Florence walls is the Archivio di Stato (State Archive) in Viale Giovine Italia, one of the most important European archives, and the Cimitero degli Inglesi (Cemetery of the English) in Piazzale Donatello, where the poet E. B. Browning and G. P. Vieusseux rest.
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