Piazzale Michelangelo

Piazzale Michelangelo is the city’s panoramic terrace. Construction ended in 1875. The whole square was intended as a monument to Michelangelo: the loggia was originally meant to bring all his statues in Florence together in one museum. Both the square and Viale dei Colli—the Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli avenues meeting here—were designed by Giuseppe Poggi, a leading figure in the city’s transformation in the second half of the nineteenth century, during its capital period. Together with nearby Forte Belvedere, this is the city’s quintessential viewpoint. The breathtaking panorama includes the cathedral and dome, Palazzo Vecchio and Arnolfo’s Tower, Santa Croce, the riverside and Ponte Vecchio, reaching as far as the Fiesole hills. The central monument to Michelangelo comprises bronze copies of his statues: Day, Night, Dusk and Dawn, the four allegories kept in the old sacristy of the Medici Chapels, and the imposing David, whose original is now in the Accademia Gallery. A short distance away are the Iris Garden, Rose Garden and Parco Michelangelo. A little higher stands one of Florence’s most atmospheric churches, San Miniato al Monte. Each year on the evening of 24 June, the traditional fochi fireworks are launched from here to conclude the celebrations of the city’s patron saint.