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This list of guide books is intended as a starting point to help you plan your trip to Florence and environs (along with reading this website). These will help you decide what interests you, so you can plan your trip in advance and not waste precious time in indecision.

I really encourage travelers to enrich their experience by also reading other types of books about aspects of Italy that interest them. After the guide, you might consider an art history textbook, some historical fiction, something about italian history… There are posts on arttrav with reading lists that might help you choose something fun to read before or during your trip. Read more…

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A History of the franciscan order and description of the major early renaissance achievements in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence (begun in the 1290s).

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Baptistry defined: locus for baptism. This is usually done inside churches in a baptismal font and does not require a separate building, but Florence (like Pisa) has separated out the parts of its Cathedral complex. We tend to think of the baptistry as a structure that completes the cathedral and the belltower, but actually it was the FIRST structure on this spot!

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Podcast describing the history of piazza duomo in Florence.
Dowload the pdf text here (with a diagram of the piazza and its major monuments).