Location of Florence
Florence is an inland city on the Italian Peninsula. It is approximately
200 kilometers north of Italy's capitol, Rome, and 50 kilometers south of
Bologna. The city sits in a plain along the banks of the River Arno which
flows from the mountains to the west of the city into the Ligurian Sea off
the east coast of Italy. The city is surrounded by the Chianti mountains
to the south and the Apennines to the north.
Florence has a population of more than 464,000 people, and is visited by
more than five million tourists each year. The city is one of Italy's 11
major cities which are: Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Genoa, Palermo, Bologna,
Florence, Catania, Venice, and Bari. It is the regional capital and the
primary city of Tuscany and functions in a secondary role to Italy's two
dominant metropolises: Rome and Milan (Bethemont and Pelletier 100p;103).
Pisa is a secondary city of Tuscany and fought for many years for primacy
in the region, but Florence's primacy was insured during the brief period
in the 19th century when it served as the capital of Italy.
While the population of city has grown over the more than 2000 years since
its founding, the city remains confined to a plain and is quite small geographically
relative to its size. As a result of the city's small geographical size,
it is both densely populated and polluted; traffic is also a severe problem,
and many people navigate the city's narrow streets by motorp;scooter.
The city itself is asymmetrical; the right bank of the Arno is on higher
ground while the lower left bank, though prone to flooding, has facilitated
easy settlement (Bethemont and Pelletier 146). The Roman city, which lies
on the right bank of the Arno, is a maze of narrow streets and features
landmarks such as the Duomo and the site of the Forum. Today, much of the
historic center of Florence along the right bank of the Arno is a pedestrian
zone.
The city lies along the important transportation and communication routes
that cross the Apennine Mountains and link Bologna to the north with Rome
to the south. The direct links with Bologna and Rome are via the Autostrada
del Sole and a railway that passes through an 18 kilometer long tunnel through
the Apennines. Highways also provide easy access to Florence from most other
major Italian cities including: Milan, Venice, and Genoa. The city is served
by an efficient bus system.
Florence has a diverse range of functions; there is a highly developed commercial
sector, ranging from numerous administrative services to intellectual activities
including several universities and the National Library. Florence also has
important artisanal and industrial activities; textiles are Florence's primary
industrial export. Tourism is the city's biggest employer, but the presence
of tourists have no transformed the city's traditions or landscape; the
city has preserved its identity and the Florentine way of life (Bethemont
and Pelletier 145p;147).
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