Walk Through Florence
A Travel Guide
Stop 1: Visiting Florentine Painters
You are at The Palazzo Medici (Medici Palace), where four great art pieces are on display. The Palazzo Medici was a mansion built for the Medici family in A.D. 1444, and was their residence for almost 100 years. The palace includes a courtyard, where famous works of art commissioned by the Medici were displayed. Inside the palace, Cosimo Medici 1 loved to spend his evenings with the best artists and scholars of Florence, many of whom the Medici sponsored in their work. Musicians who played popular songs often entertained the guests at the palace. Because wealthy Florentine citizens like the Medici encouraged and financed art projects, many of Italy’s most important Renaissance painters moved to the city, creating an explosion of artistic innovation. Following is a description of 4 artists who contributed remarkable innovations.
Cimabue (1240-1302)
Established the tradition of excellence in Florentine painting. Cimabue’s paintings display the first attempts to break away from the flat and lifeless style typical of the Middle Ages by adding new spirituality and drama to painting.
Giotto (1266-1337)
One of Cimabue’s students; he created paintings even more lifelike and expressive than Cimabue’s works. By adding more realism and humanity to his works, Giotto took the step that provided the basis for a new style of painting in the Renaissance.
Masaccio (1401-1428)
Helped revolutionize painting by creating figures that were powerful, sculptural, and simple. He also contributed to the technical advances in Renaissance painting by making bold experiments with perspective and using colors like green-blue and blue-orange.
Botticelli (1444-1510)
A later Florentine artists whose paintings were notable for their graceful youths and maidens. His rhythmic lines and subtle use of coloring often created a dreamy, slightly sad feeling.
Examine…
Look at the paintings provided.. Attempt to determine which artist painted each of the paintings. Even if you are unsure, guess! For each painting complete the sentence that reads “I think _________ painted this because______”
Painting 1: Lamentation Over Christ
I think Giotto (painter) painted this because…it has a dreamlike quality.
Painting 2: Adoration Of the Magi
I think Botticelli (painter) painted this because… it has a lot of detail.
Painting 3: Crucifix
I think Cimabue (painter) painted this because…it is simple and powerful.
Painting 4: The Tribute Money
I think Masaccio (painter) painted this because…it has a lot of detail, but less than Giotto’s
Stop 2: Leonardo’s Notebooks
You are now at Orsanmichele, a church where Leonardo worked.
Leonardo da Vinci is regarded as the best example of a Renaissance person. In addition to being a great painter, da Vinci, was also a sculptor, architect, scientist, and engineer. His paintings include the masterpieces Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Leonardo was born in Vinci, a small village near Florence, in the Tuscan countryside.
Throughout his life da Vinci searched for knowledge. He kept detailed notes and complex drawings on hundreds of different subjects, including human anatomy, animals, and mechanical inventions. Many of these drawings anticipated inventions long before their time, revealing da Vinci’s genius. Most of the 4,200 pages of notes he kept were written backward. Some historians think this was done to prevent other people from stealing his ideas. Unfortunately, he never organized his notes for publication. Thus they remain in notebook fashion today.
Examine…
Look over each da Vinci sketch and attempt to determine what he was representing with each sketch. Document your guesses below.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
My guess:water pulley
My guess:flying machine
My guess:hat
Answer:lifts water
Answer:flying machine
Answer:armored tank
Stop 3: Dante’s Writings
You are at Casa di Dante (Dante’s house).
The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri is Florence’s most respected writer. His most famous work is The Divine Comedy, a long poem in which Dante describes his imaginary journey through the afterlife. Contrary to the customs of the fourteenth century, The Divine Comedy was written in a Tuscan dialect (a form of Italian) instead of the usual Latin language. Dante’s writing helped establish the Tuscan dialect as the language of the Italian.
Inferno: In the first part, Virgil, a poet of ancient Rome, acts as Dante’s guide through Hell. In Hell, Dante sees many lovely souls, among them as number of important people in Florence, and he gives a vivid description of their sins and torturous punishments for them. In the image we see an illustration of Hell that depicts the following lines from Dante’s poem:
“ It carried by the hair its severed head,
which swayed within its hand just like a lantern,
and that head looked at us and said: ‘Ah, me!”
Purgatory: In the second part, Virgil leads Dante through Purgatory. In Purgatory- where people pay for their sins to try to get to Heaven- sorrow is not so deep, for there is hope of being saved. In the image we see an illustration of Purgatory that shows Dante and Virgil examining sculptures set up as examples of Humility (humbleness) to the proud. Below, the Proud crouch, each weighed down by a huge stone.
Paradiso: In the third part, Beatrice, a woman whom Dante loved deeply but who died at an early age, acts as his guide. Beatrice leads him through Heaven, where all sins are forgotten and everyone lives in peace with God. The image shows an illustration of Heaven that shows Dante with Beatrice meeting the spirits of the moon.
Label…
In the table below, write two words or phrases to describe how an individual might feel in Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell that Dante describes.
fun
PARADISO
carefree
angry
PURGATORIO
self-spiteful
sad
INFERNO
tortured
Examine…
Read the passage and determine which part of the afterlife- Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory- you think it describes.
Passage from Dante’s Divine Comedy
Italian
Quivi sospiri, pianti e alti guai risonavan per l’aere sanza stelle, per ch’io al cominciar ne lagrimai
English
Here sighs and lamentations and loud cries were echoing across the starless air so that as soon as I set out, I wept.
I think the passage describes Inferno because it talks of tortured cries, which you would find in Inferno.
Stop 4: Sculpture
You are at the Piazza della Signoria (Plaza of the City Council).
Comparing Sculptures of David
Sculpture, like other art forms in Italy, was influenced by the spirit of humanism that developed during the Renaissance. Unlike medieval sculpture, which was designed to stir up religious emotions, Renaissance sculpture took biblical topics but presented them in a way that emphasized the human qualities of the characters involved. Inspired by the statues of ancient Greece and Rome, Renaissance artists reestablished the classical ideal of beauty: the naked human body. In addition, sculptures were no longer works intended simply to decorate public buildings, but also began to stand alone as refined products bought by the rich. Two of Florence’s most celebrated sculptors were Donatello and Michelangelo. Both of whom created sculptures entitled David.
Donatello
The most influential artist of the early Italian Renaissance was Donatello. Among his most popular works is his statue of David, the great king of the Israelites in the Old Testament. In the life size statue, completed around 1430, Donatello revived the ancient Roman practice of sculpting nude figures. Donatello’s David is a portrait of a proud, triumphant boy who has killed the giant, Goliath. Where David originally stood is not certain, but most scholars believe he graced the garden of the Palazzo Medici. As the first life size, free-standing sculpture in western Europe since ancient times, Donatello’s David served as a model for many later sculptors, including Michelangelo.
Michelangelo
Renaissance sculpture reached its high point with the work of Michelangelo, who was generally considered the greatest of all Renaissance artists. Completed in 1504, Michelangelo’s David is one of the world’s most admired sculptures. A technical masterpiece, David seems to have its own personality. Youthful, optimistic, and powerful, the statue celebrates the perfection of the human body. At 14 feet, it was the largest sculpture that 16th century Italians had seen since ancient times. Florentine leaders immediately recognized its artistic and symbolic value and installed it in the plaza in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, where it became an emblem for the entire city.
Examine…
The different sculptures. Draw a quick sketch of each David in your travel journal. Then read the critiques A and B and complete the statements and decide which critique matches each statue. Record your answers by completing the sentences in your travel journal.
Sketch of Donatello’s David
Sketch of Michelangelo’s David
Critiques of David
A: “The legs are skillfully outlined, the slender flanks are beautifully shaped and the limbs are joined faultlessly to the trunk.”
B: “This figure is so natural in its vivacity and softness that artists find it hardly possible to believe it was not moulded on the living form.”
I think Critique A belongs with image B because it had the faultless joining of the limbs to the trunk.
I think Critique B belongs with image A because it was the one that Michelangelo imperfected, since it was so perfect.
Stop 5: Markets of Florence
You are at Loggia di Mercato Nuovo (Loggia of the New Market).
The Mercato Vecchio (Old Market) was established in Florence during the tenth century. Four ancient churches graced the corners of the market, and dozens of towers- some 80 feet high- loomed over the carts and stalls of its merchants. Similar to many markets of the Middle Ages, the Mercato Vecchio was overcrowded, overbuilt and polluted. Yet, during the Renaissance, it was the place where bargain hunters from all over the Mediterranean gathered to sell and trade goods. The Mercato Vecchio was also the spot where native Florentines shopped to purchase daily necessities like vegetables, meat, and bread, as well as cloth and medicine.
Two blocks away from the Mercato Vecchio was the Loggia Mercato Nuovo (Loggia of the New Market), one of the largest financial marketplaces in Europe. The market was built during the rule of Cosimo Medici I, between 1547-51, to provide a respectable place for the trading of silk, wool, and gold. The Mercato Nuovo was also home to Florence’s most powerful banks. Wealthy individuals from throughout Europe traveled to the market to secure loans to convert their own currencies into florins that were made of “72 grains of gold” and not devalued with less expensive metals, such as copper or iron. Special rules that prohibited the sale of food or the possession of weapons within the Mercato Nuovo’s boundaries kept the behavior of its visitors orderly and businesslike.
Examine…
Examine the goods and decide what you would like to purchase with the five florins that you have. Then write the name of the item(s) you would purchase below the florins in your travel guide. Explain why you chose these items.
Item:Down payment for Loan of 50 florins for 5 florins
Item:One Dozen Melons for 1 florin
Item:Wooden Stool for 3 florins
Item:Wool Cloak for 3 florins
Item:Sack of Grain for 1 florin
I bought Down payment for Loan of 50 florins with my gold florins because then I can spend money on other stuff, and later make more money to pay back.
I bought One Dozen Melons and A Sack of Grain with my gold florins because Then I have food to eat.
I bought A Woolen Cloak with my gold florins because I need to stay warm.
I bought A Wooden Stool with my gold florins because I need somewhere to sit.
Stop 6: The Duomo
You are at the Duomo (cathedral) of Santa Maria del Fiore.
The Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore, a cathedral dedicated to the Madonna of Florence, was one for the most important buildings in Renaissance Florence. The most distinctive feature of the Duomo is its red-brown cupola, or dome. From its top, 270 feet above Florence (roughly equivalent to 27 stories), one has an impressive view of the entire city.
The construction of the massive cupola created one of history’s greatest architectural challenges. The Florentines built the large cathedral, leaving a 138-foot opening for the dome, despite the fact that they did not know how to build a dome that size that would not collapse. A century after it was begun in 1296, the cathedral still lacked a dome to fit the octagonal (eight-sided) base that was already in place. Ultimately, the leaders of Florence held a contest in which Italy’s best architects were invited to submit ideas on how to build the dome. Finally, in 1420, an Italian named Filippo Brunelleschi, who was a student of ancient Roman architecture, convinced Florence’s leaders that he could build cupola that would not collapse.
Read “Building a Human Dome.” Follow the directions to build a dome with 3 of your classmates.
Fill out the chart:
Our Dome
Brunelleschi’s Dome
Why didn’t the dome collapse? The dome didn’t collapse because of the people who held the ball up.
Why didn’t the dome collapse? The dome didn’t collapse because of the arches.
What part of the dome supported the most weight?
The ball equally supported the weight.
What part of the dome supported the most weight? The lantern supported the weight.
Cafe Stop: Write a Postcard
It’s time to reflect on your time in Florence! Write a postcard to a friend describing your experiences in Florence. Use your notes and illustrations from your travel guide to help you write your letter. Be creative in writing and illustrating your postcard. Your postcard must include these parts:
1. Date and proper salutation (“Dear…”)
2. An introduction that gives a general description of Renaissance Florence, that mentions
3. A description of at least 3 places in the city. In describing each place, focus on these questions:
4. On the back of the postcard include an illustration, picture, or visual symbol that represents your walking tour through Florence. You can paste in an image or draw your own in google drawing.
Front of postcard:
Dear friend,
Feudalism fell due to the Black Plague, the people moving to cities, and the Crusade.
The Renaissance started because, the survivors wanted to enjoy life, and wanted to revive the ancient Romans, and the Greeks. Humanism is the thought of humans and their achievements are more important than before. The spirit of the Renaissance is the reviving of the Roman and Greek art and literature, and humanism. The Loggia di Mercato Nuovo was an amazing market, and the items I bought were my favorite thing there. I learnt that Florins are Florences coins. The Piazza della Signoria was very memorable and interesting for its sculptures. I found out that there are many David’s. The Casa di Dante was Dante Alighieri’s house, and was memorable and interesting, due to The Divine Comedy. I learnt of the three afterlifes through this.
Loggia di Mercato Nuovo Piazza della Signoria Casa di Dante
Back of postcard (picture goes here):
A Travel Guide
Stop 1: Visiting Florentine Painters
You are at The Palazzo Medici (Medici Palace), where four great art pieces are on display. The Palazzo Medici was a mansion built for the Medici family in A.D. 1444, and was their residence for almost 100 years. The palace includes a courtyard, where famous works of art commissioned by the Medici were displayed. Inside the palace, Cosimo Medici 1 loved to spend his evenings with the best artists and scholars of Florence, many of whom the Medici sponsored in their work. Musicians who played popular songs often entertained the guests at the palace. Because wealthy Florentine citizens like the Medici encouraged and financed art projects, many of Italy’s most important Renaissance painters moved to the city, creating an explosion of artistic innovation. Following is a description of 4 artists who contributed remarkable innovations.
Cimabue (1240-1302)
Established the tradition of excellence in Florentine painting. Cimabue’s paintings display the first attempts to break away from the flat and lifeless style typical of the Middle Ages by adding new spirituality and drama to painting.
Giotto (1266-1337)
One of Cimabue’s students; he created paintings even more lifelike and expressive than Cimabue’s works. By adding more realism and humanity to his works, Giotto took the step that provided the basis for a new style of painting in the Renaissance.
Masaccio (1401-1428)
Helped revolutionize painting by creating figures that were powerful, sculptural, and simple. He also contributed to the technical advances in Renaissance painting by making bold experiments with perspective and using colors like green-blue and blue-orange.
Botticelli (1444-1510)
A later Florentine artists whose paintings were notable for their graceful youths and maidens. His rhythmic lines and subtle use of coloring often created a dreamy, slightly sad feeling.
Examine…
Look at the paintings provided.. Attempt to determine which artist painted each of the paintings. Even if you are unsure, guess! For each painting complete the sentence that reads “I think _________ painted this because______”
Painting 1: Lamentation Over Christ
I think Giotto (painter) painted this because…it has a dreamlike quality.
Painting 2: Adoration Of the Magi
I think Botticelli (painter) painted this because… it has a lot of detail.
Painting 3: Crucifix
I think Cimabue (painter) painted this because…it is simple and powerful.
Painting 4: The Tribute Money
I think Masaccio (painter) painted this because…it has a lot of detail, but less than Giotto’s
Stop 2: Leonardo’s Notebooks
You are now at Orsanmichele, a church where Leonardo worked.
Leonardo da Vinci is regarded as the best example of a Renaissance person. In addition to being a great painter, da Vinci, was also a sculptor, architect, scientist, and engineer. His paintings include the masterpieces Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Leonardo was born in Vinci, a small village near Florence, in the Tuscan countryside.
Throughout his life da Vinci searched for knowledge. He kept detailed notes and complex drawings on hundreds of different subjects, including human anatomy, animals, and mechanical inventions. Many of these drawings anticipated inventions long before their time, revealing da Vinci’s genius. Most of the 4,200 pages of notes he kept were written backward. Some historians think this was done to prevent other people from stealing his ideas. Unfortunately, he never organized his notes for publication. Thus they remain in notebook fashion today.
Examine…
Look over each da Vinci sketch and attempt to determine what he was representing with each sketch. Document your guesses below.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
My guess:water pulley
My guess:flying machine
My guess:hat
Answer:lifts water
Answer:flying machine
Answer:armored tank
Stop 3: Dante’s Writings
You are at Casa di Dante (Dante’s house).
The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri is Florence’s most respected writer. His most famous work is The Divine Comedy, a long poem in which Dante describes his imaginary journey through the afterlife. Contrary to the customs of the fourteenth century, The Divine Comedy was written in a Tuscan dialect (a form of Italian) instead of the usual Latin language. Dante’s writing helped establish the Tuscan dialect as the language of the Italian.
Inferno: In the first part, Virgil, a poet of ancient Rome, acts as Dante’s guide through Hell. In Hell, Dante sees many lovely souls, among them as number of important people in Florence, and he gives a vivid description of their sins and torturous punishments for them. In the image we see an illustration of Hell that depicts the following lines from Dante’s poem:
“ It carried by the hair its severed head,
which swayed within its hand just like a lantern,
and that head looked at us and said: ‘Ah, me!”
Purgatory: In the second part, Virgil leads Dante through Purgatory. In Purgatory- where people pay for their sins to try to get to Heaven- sorrow is not so deep, for there is hope of being saved. In the image we see an illustration of Purgatory that shows Dante and Virgil examining sculptures set up as examples of Humility (humbleness) to the proud. Below, the Proud crouch, each weighed down by a huge stone.
Paradiso: In the third part, Beatrice, a woman whom Dante loved deeply but who died at an early age, acts as his guide. Beatrice leads him through Heaven, where all sins are forgotten and everyone lives in peace with God. The image shows an illustration of Heaven that shows Dante with Beatrice meeting the spirits of the moon.
Label…
In the table below, write two words or phrases to describe how an individual might feel in Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell that Dante describes.
fun
PARADISO
carefree
angry
PURGATORIO
self-spiteful
sad
INFERNO
tortured
Examine…
Read the passage and determine which part of the afterlife- Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory- you think it describes.
Passage from Dante’s Divine Comedy
Italian
Quivi sospiri, pianti e alti guai risonavan per l’aere sanza stelle, per ch’io al cominciar ne lagrimai
English
Here sighs and lamentations and loud cries were echoing across the starless air so that as soon as I set out, I wept.
I think the passage describes Inferno because it talks of tortured cries, which you would find in Inferno.
Stop 4: Sculpture
You are at the Piazza della Signoria (Plaza of the City Council).
Comparing Sculptures of David
Sculpture, like other art forms in Italy, was influenced by the spirit of humanism that developed during the Renaissance. Unlike medieval sculpture, which was designed to stir up religious emotions, Renaissance sculpture took biblical topics but presented them in a way that emphasized the human qualities of the characters involved. Inspired by the statues of ancient Greece and Rome, Renaissance artists reestablished the classical ideal of beauty: the naked human body. In addition, sculptures were no longer works intended simply to decorate public buildings, but also began to stand alone as refined products bought by the rich. Two of Florence’s most celebrated sculptors were Donatello and Michelangelo. Both of whom created sculptures entitled David.
Donatello
The most influential artist of the early Italian Renaissance was Donatello. Among his most popular works is his statue of David, the great king of the Israelites in the Old Testament. In the life size statue, completed around 1430, Donatello revived the ancient Roman practice of sculpting nude figures. Donatello’s David is a portrait of a proud, triumphant boy who has killed the giant, Goliath. Where David originally stood is not certain, but most scholars believe he graced the garden of the Palazzo Medici. As the first life size, free-standing sculpture in western Europe since ancient times, Donatello’s David served as a model for many later sculptors, including Michelangelo.
Michelangelo
Renaissance sculpture reached its high point with the work of Michelangelo, who was generally considered the greatest of all Renaissance artists. Completed in 1504, Michelangelo’s David is one of the world’s most admired sculptures. A technical masterpiece, David seems to have its own personality. Youthful, optimistic, and powerful, the statue celebrates the perfection of the human body. At 14 feet, it was the largest sculpture that 16th century Italians had seen since ancient times. Florentine leaders immediately recognized its artistic and symbolic value and installed it in the plaza in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, where it became an emblem for the entire city.
Examine…
The different sculptures. Draw a quick sketch of each David in your travel journal. Then read the critiques A and B and complete the statements and decide which critique matches each statue. Record your answers by completing the sentences in your travel journal.
Sketch of Donatello’s David
Sketch of Michelangelo’s David
Critiques of David
A: “The legs are skillfully outlined, the slender flanks are beautifully shaped and the limbs are joined faultlessly to the trunk.”
B: “This figure is so natural in its vivacity and softness that artists find it hardly possible to believe it was not moulded on the living form.”
I think Critique A belongs with image B because it had the faultless joining of the limbs to the trunk.
I think Critique B belongs with image A because it was the one that Michelangelo imperfected, since it was so perfect.
Stop 5: Markets of Florence
You are at Loggia di Mercato Nuovo (Loggia of the New Market).
The Mercato Vecchio (Old Market) was established in Florence during the tenth century. Four ancient churches graced the corners of the market, and dozens of towers- some 80 feet high- loomed over the carts and stalls of its merchants. Similar to many markets of the Middle Ages, the Mercato Vecchio was overcrowded, overbuilt and polluted. Yet, during the Renaissance, it was the place where bargain hunters from all over the Mediterranean gathered to sell and trade goods. The Mercato Vecchio was also the spot where native Florentines shopped to purchase daily necessities like vegetables, meat, and bread, as well as cloth and medicine.
Two blocks away from the Mercato Vecchio was the Loggia Mercato Nuovo (Loggia of the New Market), one of the largest financial marketplaces in Europe. The market was built during the rule of Cosimo Medici I, between 1547-51, to provide a respectable place for the trading of silk, wool, and gold. The Mercato Nuovo was also home to Florence’s most powerful banks. Wealthy individuals from throughout Europe traveled to the market to secure loans to convert their own currencies into florins that were made of “72 grains of gold” and not devalued with less expensive metals, such as copper or iron. Special rules that prohibited the sale of food or the possession of weapons within the Mercato Nuovo’s boundaries kept the behavior of its visitors orderly and businesslike.
Examine…
Examine the goods and decide what you would like to purchase with the five florins that you have. Then write the name of the item(s) you would purchase below the florins in your travel guide. Explain why you chose these items.
Item:Down payment for Loan of 50 florins for 5 florins
Item:One Dozen Melons for 1 florin
Item:Wooden Stool for 3 florins
Item:Wool Cloak for 3 florins
Item:Sack of Grain for 1 florin
I bought Down payment for Loan of 50 florins with my gold florins because then I can spend money on other stuff, and later make more money to pay back.
I bought One Dozen Melons and A Sack of Grain with my gold florins because Then I have food to eat.
I bought A Woolen Cloak with my gold florins because I need to stay warm.
I bought A Wooden Stool with my gold florins because I need somewhere to sit.
Stop 6: The Duomo
You are at the Duomo (cathedral) of Santa Maria del Fiore.
The Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore, a cathedral dedicated to the Madonna of Florence, was one for the most important buildings in Renaissance Florence. The most distinctive feature of the Duomo is its red-brown cupola, or dome. From its top, 270 feet above Florence (roughly equivalent to 27 stories), one has an impressive view of the entire city.
The construction of the massive cupola created one of history’s greatest architectural challenges. The Florentines built the large cathedral, leaving a 138-foot opening for the dome, despite the fact that they did not know how to build a dome that size that would not collapse. A century after it was begun in 1296, the cathedral still lacked a dome to fit the octagonal (eight-sided) base that was already in place. Ultimately, the leaders of Florence held a contest in which Italy’s best architects were invited to submit ideas on how to build the dome. Finally, in 1420, an Italian named Filippo Brunelleschi, who was a student of ancient Roman architecture, convinced Florence’s leaders that he could build cupola that would not collapse.
Read “Building a Human Dome.” Follow the directions to build a dome with 3 of your classmates.
Fill out the chart:
Our Dome
Brunelleschi’s Dome
Why didn’t the dome collapse? The dome didn’t collapse because of the people who held the ball up.
Why didn’t the dome collapse? The dome didn’t collapse because of the arches.
What part of the dome supported the most weight?
The ball equally supported the weight.
What part of the dome supported the most weight? The lantern supported the weight.
Cafe Stop: Write a Postcard
It’s time to reflect on your time in Florence! Write a postcard to a friend describing your experiences in Florence. Use your notes and illustrations from your travel guide to help you write your letter. Be creative in writing and illustrating your postcard. Your postcard must include these parts:
1. Date and proper salutation (“Dear…”)
2. An introduction that gives a general description of Renaissance Florence, that mentions
- 3 causes that contributed to the fall of feudalism and the dark ages
- 3 reasons for the rise of the Renaissance.
- Humanism and how it contributes to the Renaissance
- The spirit of the Renaissance
3. A description of at least 3 places in the city. In describing each place, focus on these questions:
- What was most interesting or memorable?
- What do you know now that you didn’t know before?
- What was your favorite place to visit and why?
- Include a small illustration for each place you mention in your letter (3 small illustrations in the letter)
4. On the back of the postcard include an illustration, picture, or visual symbol that represents your walking tour through Florence. You can paste in an image or draw your own in google drawing.
Front of postcard:
Dear friend,
Feudalism fell due to the Black Plague, the people moving to cities, and the Crusade.
The Renaissance started because, the survivors wanted to enjoy life, and wanted to revive the ancient Romans, and the Greeks. Humanism is the thought of humans and their achievements are more important than before. The spirit of the Renaissance is the reviving of the Roman and Greek art and literature, and humanism. The Loggia di Mercato Nuovo was an amazing market, and the items I bought were my favorite thing there. I learnt that Florins are Florences coins. The Piazza della Signoria was very memorable and interesting for its sculptures. I found out that there are many David’s. The Casa di Dante was Dante Alighieri’s house, and was memorable and interesting, due to The Divine Comedy. I learnt of the three afterlifes through this.
Loggia di Mercato Nuovo Piazza della Signoria Casa di Dante
Back of postcard (picture goes here):