Florence, City of Art Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tuscany (Toscana)

Florence is located in Tuscany, and is the capital (capoluogo) of the region.

Answer: Santa Maria del Fiore

The key word here is "official." "Santa Maria del Fiore" (Our Lady of the Flower) is the official name, even though "Il Duomo" is the much more common name for the church, the third largest in the world. San Giovanni (St. John) is the name of the cathedral's baptistery and of the city quarter in which the cathedral is located. St. John is the patron saint of Florence. Santissima Annunziata is the name of another Florentine church.

Answer: Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is by far the oldest Florentine bridge. It was built in 1345 and is lined with jewelry shops. The originals of the other three bridges were actually older than Ponte Vecchio, but were rebuilt several times. Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge in the city to survive World War II, and it was lucky to do so.

As Nazi troops were retreating from the city, the general was ordered to destroy all the bridges. He did so, but spared Ponte Vecchio because he happened to be an art lover.

Answer: Palazzo Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, still houses many public offices and is located on the Piazza della Signoria. di Cambio also designed Il Duomo (but not its dome--that was Brunelleschi (brew-nell-ESS-key)).

Answer: Piazza Santa Croce

The classical form of the game is played every June 24 on Piazza Santa Croce. June 24 is the feast day of Florence's patron saint, St. John. Each of the four quarters of the city (Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, and San Giovanni) has a team that competes in the annual tournament.

Answer: Arno

The Arno is the river we want here. A street that runs along the Arno is called a "Lungarno" (literally, "Along the Arno"). The Tiber ("Tevere" in Italian) is the river of Rome, the Adige runs through Verona, and the Po, which is also the longest river in Italy, runs though Turin.

Answer: 400,000

According to the American Heritage Dicitonary, 402,316 people are residents of Florence.

Answer: Santa Croce

Michelangelo Buonarroti, that great artist of the Renaissance, is entombed in the church of Santa Croce, which is of the Franciscan order. This church was ALSO designed by Arnolfo di Cambio. Michelangelo is only one among many notables entombed here, one of which is Galileo Galilei. Don't be fooled by the monument to Dante--it's strictly what I said it is: a MONUMENT.

His remains are in the town of Ravenna. There is also a statue of this famous writer outside the church.

Answer: False

This is false. However, if I said that Florence had been a capital of Italy it would be true. The first capital was Turin, beginning in 1861, the year of Italian unification. In 1865, Florence became the capital, and Rome became the capital in 1870 when it was added to the Kingdom of Italy.

Answer: Firenze

Firenze (fee-REND-zay) is the Italian name for Florence. The original Italian name was Fiorenza, from the Latin "Florentia," but it eventually evolved into "Firenze."