Team:UNIFI/Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital of the central Italian region of Tuscany and it is one of the most breathtaking cities in Europe. Celebrated as the birthplace of Renaissance, the city is home to many of its most famous artistic treasures. Florence was first settled by Romans in 59 BC nearby the river Arno and its name comes from the latin “Florentia” which literally translated means “flower”, in this case with the meaning of “flowering city”. It’s a popular destination for tourists and students of art and culture, since the whole city is an open-air museum. The most visited sights are:
-The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore with its famous dome by Brunelleschi: today Brunelleschi’s dome is the tallest building in Florence;
-Pitti Palace and Boboli gardens, Pitti palace was once residence of the Medici family, it hosts paintings by Titian, Rubens and Raphael, Italian Renaissance painters;
-Uffizi, one of the largest and most important museums, containing the greatest collection of Renaissance art;
-Galleria dell’Accademia, an art gallery mostly famous for hosting the great statue “David” of Michelangelo;
-Ponte Vecchio, the oldest and most iconic bridge over Arno river;
-Giotto’s campanile which is a bell tower with its decorative marble.
Furthermore, Florence is famous for food festivals dedicated to special seasonal products like chestnut, porcini mushrooms, truffle, extra virgin olive oil and wine. Other events celebrate local folklore and old traditions and represent the cultural background of Florence. Tourists can shop in the many designer shops and buy souvenirs made of leather. Florence is also famous for its cuisine. The local specialty is “Bistecca alla fiorentina” served together with Chianti wine. Florence is a very recommended city to everyone to be visited at least once in a lifetime.

University of Florence

The University of Florence is a public institution which has a very important history. Its origins date back to the Studium Generale set up by the Florentine Republic in 1321 in which diciplines like Civil and Canon Law, Literature, Medicine were taught. In 1924 the Istituto was officially granted the title of university. Between 1924 and 1938 the university was organized into different faculties, namely the Faculties of Agriculture, Architecture, Economics, Pharmacy, Law, Humanities, Education, Medicine, Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences and Political Sciences. Engineering was added in 1970 and Psychology in 2002. On the 1st January 2013, all faculties have been abolished, giving all responsibility to provide teaching and services to the Schools. The University of Florence offers a wide range of study programs at various levels and in all areas of knowledge. 126 Degree courses (First and Second Cycle, corresponding to Bachelor's and Master's Degrees) organized in 10 Schools, with a population of about 51,000 enrolled students, of which one fourth comes from outside Tuscany. There are over 9,000 degrees awarded each year in Florence. The University has various campuses scattered throughout the town and beyond, with the new Science Campus in Sesto Fiorentino, the ones in Empoli and Calenzano. Some teaching activities are also held in Pistoia and Prato. Furthermore, the University of Florence offers to students important extra-curricular activities, including sports, languages and computer studies; the university choir and orchestra; in-faculty cultural and educational initiatives funded by university grants; psychological support and opportunities for paid part-time work. Applied research is another aspect of the activities. It is carried out predominantly in cooperation with the industry, through individual agreements signed with the various Departments, mainly for industrial research as well as biomedical, technological and natural science experimentation.

Team Unifi

unifi.igem@gmail.com