Florence › Places and landmarks
Il Porcellino
The bronze boar at the Mercato Nuovo: rub its nose and you will come back to Florence.
The bronze wild boar was cast by Pietro Tacca in the 17th century after an ancient marble one. Florentines call it the little pig.
Rubbing its shining nose is said to bring you back to Florence; put a coin in its mouth and let it drop through the grate for luck.
More in Florence
DuomoFlorence’s cathedral, crowned by Brunelleschi’s dome, still the largest brick dome ever built.
Giotto’s Bell TowerThe slender bell tower beside the cathedral, clad in white, green and pink marble.
BaptisteryThe octagonal baptistery with Ghiberti’s bronze doors, which Michelangelo called the Gates of Paradise.
Piazza della SignoriaThe square of the Palazzo Vecchio, with a copy of Michelangelo’s David at its door.
Palazzo VecchioFlorence’s fortress-like town hall since 1299, with its tall tower off to one side.
Loggia dei LanziAn open arcade on the square, full of statues, among them Cellini’s Perseus with the head of Medusa.
UffiziThe Medici’s offices turned into one of the world’s great museums, with Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.
Ponte VecchioThe bridge of goldsmiths over the Arno, the only one the retreating Germans left standing in 1944.
Piazza della RepubblicaWhere the Roman forum was, now a square with a carousel and old cafés under a triumphal arch.
Santa CroceThe great Franciscan church where Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli are buried.
Santa Maria NovellaThe Dominican church with its white and green marble front by Alberti, by the station that bears its name.
Bistecca alla fiorentinaA huge T-bone steak, grilled over coals and served rare, by the kilo.