Renaissance Life for Families

• PHOTOS

During the Renaissance era, Florence was considered to be the epicenter of the artistic and commercial world. Art was changing dramatically, led mostly by new techniques introduced by Tuscan artists, and commerce was booming, mostly due to the city's powerful and talented trade guilds. Our Renaissance Life for Families walk offers the ideal opportunity for children (and their lucky parents) to learn more about the new and exciting changes that were taking place during this time period, and thus creating a context from which they can better understand further explorations in town.

In order to have a unifying theme tying the walk together for younger participants, we will focus on two distinct aspects of Renaissance life; typical jobs and the home life. Emphasis will be placed on exploring the traditional jobs of the Renaissance; textile workers, market stall peddlers, goldsmiths, etc. The influence of the Arti, the trade guilds of the era, is omnipresent in the visual culture of the ci

During the Renaissance era, Florence was considered to be the epicenter of the artistic and commercial world. Art was changing dramatically, led mostly by new techniques introduced by Tuscan artists, and commerce was booming, mostly due to the city's powerful and talented trade guilds. Our Renaissance Life for Families walk offers the ideal opportunity for children (and their lucky parents) to learn more about the new and exciting changes that were taking place during this time period, and thus creating a context from which they can better understand further explorations in town.

In order to have a unifying theme tying the walk together for younger participants, we will focus on two distinct aspects of Renaissance life; typical jobs and the home life. Emphasis will be placed on exploring the traditional jobs of the Renaissance; textile workers, market stall peddlers, goldsmiths, etc. The influence of the Arti, the trade guilds of the era, is omnipresent in the visual culture of the city and integral to understanding its economic history. We will discuss the typical workday of a Renaissance man and how this job was integrated into the whole of society.

We will then head to the recently restored Palazzo Davanazati, which offers the unique opportunity to explore a literal Renaissance-era household. How did Florentine families live? What did they eat? How did they decorate? What did they wear? What hobbies did they have?

During this two-hour family walk, we will explore these, and many other, public and private spaces which remain as testaments to life during the Renaissance, providing interesting ways for children to make parallels to their own, modern-day reality. The docent for the walk will be well-versed in an inquiry-based strategy which encourages participation and creativity among the children in the group.

In order to plan the best possible experience for your children, it would be helpful for us know some background. Have they traveled to other countries in the past? If so, where? Have they studied any subjects in school that would relate to the walk? Are they interested in art, music, even food! The more you can tell us, the better.

Due to the very interactive nature of this program and given the educational environment our docent aim to evoke, we adhere to a very strict maximum of 6 participants. Groups larger than 6 will need to book two separate walks that can run concurrently, but with different docents.