Take a wander through the Medieval Florence of The Divine Comedy. With March 25 declared Dante Day in advance of the celebrations for the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, we’re exploring the paths of the supreme poet in his (and our) beloved Florence to do the honourable poet justice. The date of March 25 was chosen as it said to be the day the journey to the afterlife began in The Divine Comedy. Dante-devotees take note, #dantemania begins with these tours throughout Florence offered by Destination Florence.
Dante began writing his great masterpiece, The Divine Comedy around 1308 and it was completed a year before his death in 1321. In it, he created a new vision of the afterlife, reinventing the medieval worldview, and also establishing the Tuscan language as the standardised Italian language. Divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, the narrative describes Dante’s travels through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise and represents the soul’s journey towards God.
Dante’s hell has captured the imagination of artists for centuries
Set off on your own journey with a tour of Florence through the lens of Dan Brown and Dante. Brown’s popular novel Inferno follows Dante’s trail throughout Medieval Florence from Boboli Gardens and Ponte Vecchio to Palazzo Vecchio and the Baptistery of San Giovanni where Dante was baptised. The characters of Dan Brown’s novel, Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks, desperately seek to unveil the terrible secret of Bertrand Zobrist. An expert guide takes you through the must-see sights for 3 hours. The package includes entrance tickets to Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Vecchio and the Baptistery, and the tickets can subsequently be used for access to the Cathedral, the Bell Tower, the Crypt of Santa Reparata and the Opera del Duomo Gallery.
Discover the secrets of hidden alleys
How about a night walk that is a step back in time with ghost stories, murder mysteries, rumours, lies and betrayals…intrigued? Who wouldn’t be! The Murder, Mystery & Wine: The Dark Side of Florence tour reveals the secrets and hidden parts of Florence you won’t find on any other tour. Take your fill of fascinating Florence and then fill your glass with some of Tuscany’s finest wine to finish off the experience. The dark side of Florence tour takes you through the historic neighbourhoods, the old artisan districts and workshops, the Renaissance palaces brimming with scandal and murderous intrigues as well as where the malevolent Machiavelli once lived. Discover the secrets of Cosimo I and the Medici family on the bloodied cobblestone streets, the sordid story of the bitter and bloody feud that divided Florence and then take a brief breather with a stunning riverside view before delving back into all the gripping sagas by learning about the ‘Black Art of Poisoning’ used in Renaissance Florence. Finish with a drink overlooking one of the city’s most-loved piazzas as your mind is pondering all the captivating curiosities.
The romantic Renaissance city has a darker underbelly waiting to be explored
There’s plenty more crime and corruption where that came from! Torture, drugs, prostitution and politics, nothing is left out in the controversy-filled adults-only Secrets and Scandals: Florence unveiled tour. Shock and intrigue is what awaits in this walking tour. Start off with a glass of prosecco to set your nerves at ease, then step back in time to the lesser-known past in hidden alleys. See Florence in all her glory and, in particular, at her most inglorious. Draw back the curtains on the boudoir of the city’s past and hear flabbergasting tales with secret histories from the resplendent to the repulsive. With tales of foul poisons to turn your stomach, cheeky messages inscribed in some of Florence’s most well-known monuments and tales of witchcraft, these are the details you won’t read in any guidebook!
From rumours to betrayal, secrets to scandal, find out about the fascinating dark side of Florence, or take a Dante-Dan Brown trail to see the city from another perspective; either way you’ll never quite view the city in the same light again!
