1 David
Unless you make a reservation, be prepared to wait up to three hours to see Michelangelo's muscular marble masterpiece at Galleria dell'Accademia (Via Ricasoli). The jaw-dropping 5.2-metre sculpture of the biblical hero is mesmerising. Michelangelo, who was 29 when he created David, had to do a fair bit of scientific calculation to keep a piece of marble that tall from toppling. The upright log behind David's right leg and the stone in his hand both help to balance the colossal piece of rock.
2 Venus
Another rock star of Renaissance art is Botticelli, and to get anywhere near his famous painting The Birth of Venus, at Galleria degli Uffizi (Loggiato degli Uffizi), it's essential to book. The strikingly colourful work has been reproduced on chocolate boxes and ashtrays, but nothing beats the real thing, even if it's behind bulletproof glass. Although the zephyrs in the painting suggest spiritual love of the lady, Botticelli's motives were still suspect and in some circles the word 'pagan' was even whispered about the divine 'Venus on the half shell' as the painting is sometimes called.
3 The Duomo
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral, or Duomo, of Florence (Piazza del Duomo). The building bears the workmanship of the finest artists of the Renaissance. The burnt-orange dome, built with more than four million bricks, was designed by Brunelleschi. Painter and architect Giotto contributed to the early part of the construction of the campanile (bell tower). Inside the cathedral are frescoes by Vasari and Zuccari, and stained glass by Donatello. Visitors can climb the 463 steps to the top of the duomo for knock-out views of the city and the River Arno, which bisects it.
