Florence
Florence (/ˈflɒrəns/ FLORR-ənss; Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] (
listen))[lower-alpha 1] is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 360,930 inhabitants in 2023, and 984,991 in its metropolitan area.[4]
Florence
Firenze | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Firenze | |
 A collage of Florence showing the Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Florence  | |
  Florence Location of Florence in Tuscany  Florence Florence (Tuscany) | |
| Coordinates: 43°46′17″N 11°15′15″E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Tuscany |
| Metropolitan city | Florence (FI) |
| Frazioni | Baronta, Callai, Cascine del Riccio, Croce di Via, Ema I, Ema II, Montignano-Ugnano, Parigi, Piazza Calda, Pontignale, San Michele a Monteripaldi |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Dario Nardella (PD) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 102.32 km2 (39.51 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2022)[2] | |
| • Total | 367,150 |
| • Density | 3,600/km2 (9,300/sq mi) |
| Demonyms | English: Florentine Italian: fiorentino (m.), fiorentina (f.) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 50121–50145 |
| Dialing code | 055 |
| ISTAT code | 048017 |
| Patron saint | John the Baptist[3] |
| Saint day | 24 June |
| Website | Official website |
Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era.[5] It is considered by many academics[6] to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center.[7] During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond.[8] Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions.[9] From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy[10] due to the prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini.
The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments.[11] The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.[12] Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, Forbes ranked it as the most beautiful city in the world in 2010.[13]
Florence plays an important role in Italian fashion,[12] and is ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world by Global Language Monitor;[14] furthermore, it is a major national economic centre,[12] as well as a tourist and industrial hub.