Florence is famous amongst tourists and scholars for her glorious artwork, cultural heritage, and the major role she played in the Renaissance and Humanist movements. All these facets combine to make this one of the most glorious cities in the world. Florence may be a small city, but she is extremely beautiful and a favourite meeting place for visitors and ex-pats of all ages and nationalities. The city was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.Ponte Vecchio, best known of all Florence's treasures, this glorious bridge was the only one spared by the retreating Germans in the summer of 1944. Over the centuries flooding unfortunately, took its toll; few traces of the 10th century bridge remain. Today's bridge, built in the middle of the 14th century, was originally filled with a wide variety of shops that included wool merchants and greengrocers. Grand Duke Fernandino I had these replaced with goldsmiths to gentrify royalty's route to Pitti Palace, reached via the Vasari Corridor that passes over the bridge.
Santo Spirito, or the Oltrarno stretches from San Frediano to San Niccolò, but its heart is probably the Piazza Santo Spirito, which has retained much of its historic charm and is filled with workshops of the city's traditional artisans. This piazza is the place for parties on summer evenings, bringing together young Florentines and foreigners, many of whom live in this area. The Palazzo Pitti with its old Medicean garden and the Boboli Garden, are both in Oltrarno. The famous Piazzale Michelangelo (with its panoramic view) is also in this district. From here, it is possible to see one of the few remaining stretches of medieval wall around the Belvedere that was spared from demolition in the 19th century.
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