Hidden Florence app lets you explore through history

Andiamo a Firenze! is what we used to shout. And andiamo we would go! Now we… and you… can explore Renaissance Florence when you go, through the eyes of who lived in the city before queues became the in-thing. Hidden Florence, a new app takes you through the city with characters who lived there in the past.

Free app Hidden Florence

The free app Hidden Florence brings the people and places of the past to life while opening up areas of the city overlooked by other guides

Hidden Florence is written by an international team of leading historians and voiced by professional actors. The app lets you tour Florence through everyday Renaissance Florentines.

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Historic map plus geolocation

There are 47 sites to visit in the app. And you can use a 16-century map. Don’t worry the map is geolocated. You can toggle between it and a modern map of Florence as you hunt for statutes, street tabernacles, palaces and piazzas.

Characters

The characters in the app include Cosimo, Master of Florence, portrayed as he would have been in 1459. There also Giovanni, a wool worker, who takes people through a day of his life in 1490. There’s Niccolosa Alessandri, who explores Florence’s sacred foundations in 1492 as the city faces an uncertain future after the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Marietta, traces her journey from the city orphanage to life as a silk weaver in 1561. And Ercole talks about Renaissance policing and justice in 1566.

The characters are voiced by professional actors. James Faulkner, who has been in Game of Thrones and Da Vinci’s Demons, is Cosimo de’ Medici. At each site the historians narrate ‘Discover More’ explainers for you to get under the historic skin of the city. And you can use the Hidden Florence website for in-depth historical context.

Collaboration

Hidden Florence began as a prototype in 2014. An international team of historians of Renaissance Italy have written this new app. It’s a collaboration between the universities of Exeter, Cambridge and Toronto.

Project leader Professor Fabrizio Nevola, from the University of Exeter, told ArtsCulture: “Seeing Hidden Florence grow through a series of important collaborations with university colleagues, major galleries and other stakeholders is really exciting.

City’s complex history at your fingertips

“We’ve brought a number of new stories about this city’s complex history to every visitor’s fingertips, using up to date technologies to present cutting edge research about gender, class and power in an accessible way”.

Hidden Florence’s project partners are the National Gallery (London), Polo Museale della Toscana and Firenze Patrimonio Mondiale (UNESCO). The app is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (UK) through the University of Exeter and is produced by Calvium.

For more see http://hiddenflorence.org.
Hidden Florence is available in Apple and Android versions.