Between 1400 and 1550, Florence produced more genius per square mile than any place in human history. Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli — all within a city of 60,000.
Plan a history trip →1401: Ghiberti wins the Baptistery doors competition (Brunelleschi loses, goes to Rome to study ancient architecture). 1420–36: Brunelleschi builds the Duomo’s dome (largest brick dome ever, no internal scaffolding). 1434: Cosimo de’ Medici takes power. 1485: Botticelli paints the Birth of Venus. 1498: Savonarola burned at the stake in Piazza della Signoria (a fundamentalist monk who briefly overthrew the Medici and burned artworks). 1501–04: Michelangelo carves David. 1508–12: Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling. 1527: Sack of Rome by Emperor Charles V’s troops — widely considered the end of the High Renaissance.
Florence: Uffizi (€25, Botticelli, Leonardo), Accademia (€16, David), Duomo (free + €30 combo for dome/baptistery), Palazzo Medici (€10, Benozzo Gozzoli chapel). Rome: Sistine Chapel + Vatican Museums (€17), St. Peter’s (Michelangelo’s Pietà , free), Raphael Rooms. Venice: Titian at the Frari (free with Chorus Pass €12). Milan: Last Supper (€15, book 2 months ahead).
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