Meet your guide and start your tour to discover the uniqueness of Florentine mosaics.

You will start with a visit to the Baptistery in the Piazza del Duomo, one of the oldest buildings in the city.  Among the mosaics housed in the Baptistery, many dating before the Renaissance period, is the magnificent mosaic ceiling, as well as the mosaics on the floor, dating as far back as the 12th century. 

The view from the square gives no real idea of the actual size of the pyramid-shaped roof. It is really a double construction: the outer roof rises up from the drum (the third floor of the marble facing) while the internal vault starts lower down, from the second floor, where the women's gallery is situated.

This method of superimposed roofing, similar to the Roman Pantheon, was carefully studied by Brunelleschi for his project of the cupola of the Cathedral.

Continuing your tour, you'll visit the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (Workshop of Semi-Precious Stones), once a workshop in the 15th century which now contains a unique collection of mosaics.

You will then proceed to downtown Florence to walk the opposite bank of the river, reaching Palazzo Pitti, where you will see the Silverware Museum, home to a very interesting collection of vases, ivory pieces, and some cabinets decorated with semi-precious stones.