Lesson Planning in Florence

I worked all day on Saturday, but don’t feel too sorry for me. Working on the weekend isn’t too bad when it entails walking the streets of Florence putting together a walking tour for your students! Yes, I spent the day developing a walking tour for my International Business class. I call it “In the Footsteps of the Medici.” Of course, to make sure that everything is accurate, I naturally had to go on the walk myself, taking notes along the way. I actually created the tour myself, using a variety of resources. The students in this class are reading Medici Money by Tim Parks and are studying the Medici from a business perspective – as bankers, businessmen, and financiers of the Renaissance. This tour will take students into the heart of Florence, where the Medici lived, worked, and ruled. The sights they’ll see along the way are completely different from what they’ll see in their other classes and in Italian Life and Culture, which will make it even more interesting.

The walk will begin at the school, on the Piazza della Repubblica. They will first visit the Basilica di San Marco, followed by a tour of the Medici Chapels. Next stop with be the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, one of the many homes of the Medici family. A short stroll will take them to the Church of San Marco, which was built with Medici money; and the tour will end at the exact location of the first Medici bank, near the Mercato Nuovo. I’ve included pictures here that I took along the way. And once I finalize the walking tour, which will come complete with historical notes, I’ll post it here, just in case anyone wants to take it on his or her own one day.

I had great fun putting it all together, and I hope the students enjoy it and get a lot out of it. The influence the Medici had on the city of Florence and on the Renaissance is simply astonishing.