A native of Florence, Squarcialupi was a famous organist and composer of the 15th Century. Fathered by a butcher named Giovanni, Antonio later adopted a new surname after a well-known Tuscan family. He studied with two other famous Florentine organists: Giovanni Mazzuoli and Matteo di Pagolo da Prato. In 1431, Squarcialupi obtained a position at the Orsanmichele (Kitchen Garden of St Michael), however, after two years he moved to the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore where he played the organ for the remainder of his life. Moreover, he was also a member of the court of Lorenzo de' Medici, and his name is mentioned in the ruler's epitaph in Florence Cathedral. Unfortunately, none of Squarcialupi's music has survived. Apart from being an organist, he was also a music historian and gave his name to the ‘Squarcialupi Codex’, an illustrated manuscript giving a record of Italian music of the 14th Century.

This famous writer was born Carlo Lorenzini in Florence; however, from 1856 he was known as Collodi, a name derived from his mother's hometown. As a journalist and writer, he gained international renown due to his children's novel, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’. He volunteered in the Wars of Independence of 1848 and 1860 in the Tuscan army. Interested in politics, he founded a satirical newspaper, ‘Il Lampione’, which in 1849 was censored by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, yet it was re-issued in 1860. He received recognition as a writer in 1856 with the release of his novel, ‘In Vapore’. At the time, Collodi both worked for the Censorship Commission for the Theatre and wrote satirical sketches and stories, such as ‘Macchiette’ (1880), ‘Occhi e Nasi’ (1881), ‘Storie Allegre’ (1887). Collodi's first book was a translation of French fairy tales by Perrault and was geared especially towards children. It was in the 1880s that he started work on ‘Storia di un Burattino’ (The Story of a Marionette), creating the character of Pinocchio. It was originally published weekly in the first children's newspaperr, ‘Il Giornale dei Bambini’, and it became an instant classic. Carlo Collodi is buried at San Miniato al Monte in Florence.

When I returned to Florence, I found myself famous. The City Council asked me to carve a colossal David from a nineteen-foot block of marble - and damaged to boot! I locked myself away in a workshop behind the cathedral, hammered and chiselled at the towering block for three long years.

His full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, and he’s considered one of the finest world artists and truly a Renaissance man, as he was not only a talented painter and sculptor, but also an architect and poet. Born in Caprese near Arezzo, Tuscany, he was connected with Rome and Florence throughout his life. At the age of 13, he became an apprentice in the workshop of artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, who later introduced him to the powerful Lorenzo de' Medici. His first sculptures were 'Madonna of the Steps' and 'Battle of the Centaurs'. In 1492, Michelangelo moved to Venice, Bologna and finally Rome, where he carved the famous 'Pieta' for St. Peter's. He created 'David' later on, in Florence. In 1505, the artist was invited to the Vatican by Pope Julius II to build a tomb for him, which took 40 years. In the meantime, he worked on painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel until 1512, and in 1536 he painted the fresco 'The Last Judgement 'there. The chief architect of St. Peter's since 1546, Michelangelo also designed its impressive dome. He wrote over a hundred sonnets to his beloved friend Vittoria Colonna. He was buried in Florence, where his body had been secretly transported.

Donatello was one of the greatest Italian sculptors of the Renaissance period. He gained fame for his realistic style, which, at first, was influenced by the Antique and later he improved by incorporating ‘perspective’ into some of his carvings. Born in Florence as Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, he received his education at the house of the Martelli family. From 1404 to 1407, he studied and worked with Filippo Brunelleschi in Rome. Back in Florence, he assisted Lorenzo Ghiberti with a project of the door of The Battistero di San Giovanni. Between 1409 and 1411, Donatello worked on the imposing figure of Saint John the Evangelist, and later on a statue of St Mark for the Orsanmichele. Between 1415 and 1426, he created five sculptures for the campanile of Florence’s Duomo. Also notable is Donatello's ‘Crucifix’ for Santa Croce, which was executed in 1425. His most famous work, the bronze 'David', was commissioned in 1430 by Cosimo de' Medici for his palace. Donatello's figures not only influenced other sculptors, but also painters, including Masaccio and Bellini.

Native of Florence, Machiavelli was a politician and significant philosopher of the Renaissance and author of ‘The Prince’, a treatise in which he established methods in which politicians should use to maintain power. Machiavelli started his diplomatic career as a young lawyer and became secretary of the ‘Council of Ten’, which, at the time, governed the affairs of Florence along with other cities and states. Between 1499 and 1512, he was regularly sent on diplomatic missions to France, Germany and to the Papacy in Rome. Meanwhile, in 1502, Machiavelli was a representative at Cesare Borgia's court. This one-year experience let him observe the duke's state-building methods – an inspiration for his most famous work. ’The Prince’ was written in 1513, however, it wasn't published until 1532. Ever since, the pejorative term ‘Machiavellism’ stands for treacherous and cunning practises used in order to obtain power – the ends justify the means. Although accused of offering the aforementioned advice to ambitious rulers, the Italian actually just put his observations on paper. Machiavelli was the author of ‘The Discourses on Livy’ as well as numerous plays, poetry and classical works translations.

Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet from Florence, whose greatest work, ‘The Divine Comedy’, has become a classic of world literature, having been translated into almost every language. He was raised in the prominent and politically involved Alighieri family. As a boy, he fell in love with the beautiful Beatrice Portinari, who later became the subject of his series of poems, ‘La Vita Nuova’ (The New Life). In 1290, her death became the reason for his sorrow. However, already at the age of 12, Dante was promised as the future husband to Gemma di Manetto Donati. It is known that he studied Tuscan poetry and Latin poetry of Antiquity, with an emphasis on Virgil. Also, he devoted his time to philosophical studies. He even received qualifications as a doctor and a pharmacist, professions that allowed him to enter city politics. His political party fell from power in 1302 and Dante was forced to leave Florence, never to return. Around 1303, he began work on ‘Divina Commedia.’. In the poem he describes a travel through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, meeting famous people and his close friends, including his beloved Beatrice. It was the first significant work in the Tuscan dialect. Dante spent his last years in Ravenna, where he is buried.

He was one of the greatest Italian poets and gained renown for his ‘Decameron’, a collection of a one-hundred stories in verse. Boccaccio was born near Florence as the illegitimate son of a merchant. In 1326, his family moved to Naples, where Giovanni studied law and commerce; however, he was much more interested in scientific and literary studies. Introduced to the Neapolitan nobility, he fell in love with Maria d' Aquino, the married daughter of King Robert of Naples, and made her a subject of his prose, giving her the name ‘Fiammetta’. At that time he found writing his true vocation and produced ‘Filostrato’, and ‘Teseida,‘, both inspired by the English poet Chaucer. Boccaccio returned to Florence in 1340 and was active as a diplomat, but also made friends with the poet Petrarch. Around 1349, he began work on ‘Decameron’, basing it upon the 1348 Black Death epidemic in Florence. In the story, the characters are forced to leave the city, stay ten days in a country villa and tell each other stories to kill boredom. Many of the tales Boccaccio wrote he took from popular fiction, re-telling them with great poetic skill. Towards the end of his life, the author became very religious and devoted himself to writing scholarly works. He died in Certaldo, where he is buried.