The design is simple and elegant, the nice details convey delicate sensations, and there is no ostentation of luxury: the place perfectly reflects the philosophy of the chef, a champion of quality and transparency in the kitchen. The restaurant owes its name to the nearby old Florentine "Murate" prison. The tapas style lunch is the home specialty, it consists in a variety of gourmet dishes in small portions at moderate prices. Here haute cuisine becomes a democratic experience.

The restaurant is located in Florence's historic centre, amidst the finest examples of mid XV century Florentine architecture. The Antinori family has been making wine for over six-hundred years, a passion you can experience here even today, together with their hospitality, and their Tuscan traditional cuisine, with such dishes as pappa al pomodoro or controfiletto di bue toscano. The restaurant's philosophy is that "every product of the land must be eaten in season to enjoy its fullest flavour". For each recipe an ideal combination with an Antinori wine is suggested.

A delicatessen founded in the heart of Florence in 1885. With its historic legacy in artistry and handcraftsmanship it soon won vast recognition throughout the city and far beyond. Dear to all the lovers of truffle specialties, it is a Florentine institution that has stood the test of time. Following the tradition, Procacci Vienna was opened in 2006 and Procacci Singapore in 2010, so that even people abroad could enjoy the best gourmet foods from Tuscany and other places.

A creative Italian menu with revisited Tuscan dishes in one of Italy's and Europe's most prestigious restaurants, which has numerous haute cuisine awards to its name. It stands out because of painstaking care over every detail, sophistication and creativity. The ancient walls of Palazzo Jacometti-Ciofi, the contemporary design and the XIX century Tuscan paintings blend harmoniously together to produce a unique atmosphere. Local dishes include quail and pork with fresh beans (purée and terrine), guinea-fowl cappelletti with burrata and apple, foie gras and pistachio sauce. The restaurant has private rooms and an elegant XVI century courtyard used in summer.

The historic 'La Menagere', since 1896, is a concept restaurant, a container in which you will find a restaurant, a bistrot, a gift shop and a flower shop. This is definitely an unconventional place, where décor and design create an informal setting in which top quality cooking, design objects, made-to-measure items and materials with industrial flavour live together in 1,500 m2 of contemporary space.

Situated in Piazza della Repubblica, this famous café is not only a place where tourists flock for refreshment, but also one of the main saloons in the literary and artistic history of the XX century; people like Montale and Quasimodo would have been seen sitting at these tables. In 2009 the menu was extended to typically Tuscan specialties such as the Fiorentina steak with new potatoes - with meat personally selected by the managers, who have long experience in the sector.

Built in the 16th century as the country home of an aristocratic Florentine family, the mansion became a luxury hotel in 1948. It stands on the Arno banks, a few kilometers from Florence, and it is surrounded by nine hectares of parkland: olive groves, vineyards and cypresses as far as the eye can see in the diaphanous amber light of the Tuscan countryside. Riverside landscapes and sounds. Classic elegance, sober yet warm, four-poster beds, wood panelling, frescoed ceilings, tapestries, bathrooms in prestige marble. The place itself, and the views of the park and river are nothing but dreamlike images.

Relais Santa Croce is a refined hotel in an XVIII century building in the historic center of Florence. A short stroll from the city's great monuments, it is nonetheless ideal in terms of cosiness, peace and quiet. The interiors bring together antique furniture and contemporary design. Luxury and sophistication are the hotel’s predominant traits. Its restaurant, the Guelfi e Ghibellini, offers local, seasonal and innovative menus. Furthermore, in the same building with the Relais Santa Croce you can find the 3-Michelin-star Enoteca Pinchiorri.

A XV century monastery on a hillside above Fiesole, surrounded by terraced gardens, with a magnificent view on Florence and the Arno valley, is now one of Europe's most fascinating hotels. The façade was attributed to Michelangelo, the whole building breathes the ethereal beauty of the Renaissance, one of the key ingredients of Italian culture. Every guest here is a special guest, a friend for the family to show around. The Italian gardens are full of ornamental roses and lemon trees.

At 64 of via II Prato in Florence, Fiona Corsini and Alexander Hamilton work together like two single hands. The blending of their different professional experiences - Alex as an interior designer and Fiona as a textile designer – generates energy to produce functional objects with aesthetic value added, mainly bedside lamps, curtains and wall hangings. The shapes of the objects and the pictorial content vary with clients' requirements, while the technique is always the watercolour, which makes it possible to keep fabric hand unchanged while obtaining subtle, sophisticated and elegant colouring. The wealth of arts and crafts of Florence has been a fundamental source of inspiration and technical support for Studio64 in its way to becoming an open workshop where crafts people can discuss techniques and ideas.

Locchi is in the heart of Florence's Oltrarno area. Famous all around the world for the quality of its restoration work and exquisite glass and crystal objects, the firm uses old grindstones and traditional techniques constantly updated with the latest research. The craftsmanship of its glass grinders has restored Murano glass chalices, glasses, cruets, saltcellars and precious candelabras to their original condition. It has now extended its customer base abroad and also sends its craftsmen abroad to countries like Japan, the UK, France and the United States.

A craft firm in the heart of Florence, where the mosaic tradition that begun in the Renaissance is still alive. The store is actually a visitable museum, an art gallery for lovers of hard stones and pure art; the mosaics in here are made by craftsmen using techniques handed down from father to son. It’s truly fascinating to see the precision they use in cutting and shaping every piece, with a highly technological tool: manual skill.

It is considered to be the oldest pharmacy in Europe, having been active for nearly four centuries, and one of the oldest shops in the world. It's in Santa Maria Novella convent and now specializes in fragrances, essences, extracts, infusions and flowers. The cabinets and furnishings in the room with the long sales counter date back to the XVIII century and were used to store the old goods.

This has been one of the city's most elegant streets since the Renaissance and is now full of top fashion houses boutiques and jewelleries, together with old shops and bars that have always been here in the historic centre. Some of the most beautiful Renaissance buildings of Florence, such as Palazzo Strozzi, give the street the refined atmosphere of the past.

Palazzo Vecchio is in piazza della Signoria and has been Florence's city hall since mediaeval times. It is among the finest specimen of XIV century Florentine civil architecture and one of the world’s best known public buildings. It has been a political centre as well as emblem of the city throughout its history. In the XV century it became the headquarters of the Signoria, and in 1540 the Medici's official residence. It was turned into a palace by Vasari. Its priceless pieces of art include frescoes by major artists of the period such as Ghirlandaio, Bronzino, Francesco Salviati and Vasari himself.

Piazza del Duomo is the heart of the city and the ideal starting point for visiting all the other architectural and artistic masterpieces. No one fails to be struck by the beauty and power of the red, white and dark-green marbles. The square contains the city’s most important religious complex, including the Battistero di S. Giovanni, Cattedrale di S. Maria del Fiore (Duomo) and Giotto's bell tower. Walking around the square it's also possible to admire the Loggia del Bigallo built by Alberto Arnoldi between 1352 and 1358: it's in marble and has two large arches adorned by basreliefs depicting angels, Jesus and the prophets.

This was built in 1875 and has a monument to Michelangelo (1871) on a marble plinth designed by Giuseppe Poggi, who also built the Loggia del Caffè (1873), originally designed as a museum. It is the most famous observation point for admiring Florence. Dedicated to the great Renaissance's artist Michelangelo, the square has copies of certain famous works kept in Florence, such as the David and the four allegories in the Medici Chapels in San Lorenzo, all in bronze. In the corner between the avenue and the Piazzale lies the Iris Garden, with over 2,500 varieties of Iris flower, the emblem of Florence.

This is one of the symbols of the city and one of the most famous bridges in the world. It crosses the Arno at its narrowest point, where there used to be a ford in ancient times. Dating back to the early XIV century, it is the oldest one among the existing bridges, as the name itself points out, and lies on the axis of the old Via Cassia, that once linked Florence with Rome. The bridge is characterized by the presence of numerous jeweller’s shops under the old porticoes (now walled up), often "besieged" by hordes of tourists. All these shops on the Ponte Vecchio have windows on the central thoroughfare and workshops at the back, sticking out over the river.

One of the most important museums in Italy and one of the biggest and best known in the world. It has the world's finest collection of Renaissance art, and consists in great part of the personal collection of the Medici. The central body of works of art in the Uffizi are by Florentine painters but there are also Venetian and Flemish works. Great masters include Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Titian and Raphael.

Surrounding Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli Gardens provide one of the finest examples of the Italian style garden in the world. They are a sort of open-air museum thanks to architectural, landscaping and a collection of sculptures ranging from ancient Roman to XX century. The original prototype for the Boboli Gardens, that inspired many other European royal gardens, was Versailles. The Gardens were laid out and developed between the XV and XX centuries. The main areas accessed by the park’s avenues include the Amphitheatre, Viottolone and Prato del Pegaso.