“ A Florentine who is not a merchant...enjoys no esteem whatever “ San Lorenzo is where local culture meets Medici history. The two souls of the neighbourhood coexist in perfect balance: on one side the vibrant life of the market area and on the other one the magnificence of the buildings commissioned by the Medici who called Palazzo Medici home for a long time and from where their rise to power began. The Basilica of San Lorenzo is the cultural hub of the neighbourhood. Initially built in the 4th century, the church is one of the oldest in town. After being rebuilt in Romanesque style in the 11th century, it has been enlarged at the beginning of the 15th century. The reconstruction which started in 1421 and also financed by Giovanni di Bicci, forefather of the Medici family, was commissioned to Filippo Brunelleschi who was already working for the Medici private chapel in the church, later known as the Old Sacristy. The interior of the church is a jewellery box which preserves works of art by the most famous renaissance architects, sculptors and painters. As soon as you step inside you will be welcomed by the clean symmetry and the perfect proportions of the Renaissance architecture and you will admire the art of Donatello, Brunelleschi, Verroccchio, Rosso Fiorentino and many others. The Laurentian complex is the burial place for most of the Medici family members. Only a few steps away there is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, where, in 1478, Giuliano, beloved brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was murdered. The assassination of Giuliano marked one of the darkest moments of the family history and changed the political life in Florence forever. The Cathedral (built from 1296 onwards) is one of the largest in the world and its iconic dome is still nowadays the largest masonry one ever built, a monument to the genius of Filippo Brunelleschi. In 2020 our beautiful Cupola celebrated 600 years! The religious center of the city is linked through via de’ Calzaiuoli to Signoria square, the political center since the middle ages. The square itself is an open-air museum starring palaces, fountains, statues and loggias. Palazzo Vecchio is still nowadays the City Hall and it hosts a beautiful museum too. Arnolfo di Cambio started to build the Palace in 1299. Several major expansions and renovations followed over the following centuries. In 1537 another Cosimo became Duke of Tuscany and later moved (1540) to the Palazzo which had been the seat of the Florentine Republic which no longer existed. From Cosimo the Elder, the rich merchant and banker who made the economical and political fortune and destiny of the family, to Cosimo I who was crowned Grand duke of Tuscany in 1569 allowing the Medici House to rule with absolute power for almost two more centuries. Linked to the Palace there is the Uffizi commissioned to Giorgio Vasari in 1560 by Cosimo I whose equestrian statue by Giambologna stands out in the middle of the square. .