This is a route that offers beautiful panoramic views, by car, preferably in the morning.

The required time of this drive, including stops, is about two hours.

1. Piazzale Michelangelo
2. San Miniato al Monte
3. Via San Leonardo
4. Forte Belvedere

Viale dei Colli - Piazzale Michelangelo

This drive, suggested in the morning, starts from Piazza F. Ferrucci and has many beautiful views to offer along its way. The most striking one is offered from the balcony of Piazzale Michelangelo which offers a superb view of the Florene. The monument to Michelangelo, in the middle of the square, is composed of bronze reproductions of his works. Behind the square, surrounded by cypress trees, stands the Church of St. Salvatore al Monte, which Michelangelo called “the lovely villanelle”. This Church was designed by Cronaca (1499) in Renaissance style. The interior is decorated with a glazed terracotta tiles depicting the Deposition of Christ.

San Miniato al Monte

Via Monte
Free admission
HOURS: April to October, hours 8:00 to 19:30
November to March, hours 8:00 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 19:30
Tel: 0552342731

Gregorian Chants:
April to October, 17.30 November to March, 16.30

The architectural lines of the facade, completed at the beginning of the thirteenth century, are not very different from typical gabled Romanesque façades, although but the two coloured marbles used by florentine manufacturers make it a highly original work of art for its time.

The San Miniato al Monte interior is very solemn, formed by three aisles and a chancel with a high beamed ceiling. In the main nave floor, a large marble inlay work looks like a giant carpet that stretches from the entrance to the crypt.

In the presbytery please note the beautiful marble railing (1207) that encloses the inlaid wooden choir, built in 1470. The left aisle is the Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal, a small complex based on greek cross plan with vaulted hall. The Chapel is decorated with roundels by Luca della Robbia and ceramic artwork, glazed in white and blue, representing the Holy Spirit and the Cardinal Virtues.

                        

Just outside the basilica is the Cemetery of the Holy Doors (Cimitero Monumentale delle Porte Sante ) built in the last century within the fortified enclosure designed by Michelangelo in 1529.

The cemetery of the Holy Doors, location of the '"Spoon River Anthology" ed. 2007

It contains the remains of many famous men such as Papini, Montale, Stibbert, Villari, Lorenzini (known as Collodi, genius creator of Pinocchio).
The numerous of middle-class Florentine family chapels represent a timeline of Florence architectural styles, progressing from Nouveau to Art Deco, Rationalism and organic architecture.

Via San Leonardo

Leaving the church we move on to Forte Belvedere along Viale Galileo, offering beautiful views of the countryside with olive trees, to the intersection with Via San Leonardo, a typical country road that ends at the picturesque port of San Giorgio (built in 1200) , right next to Fort Belvedere.

Forte Belvedere

Built around the end of the sixteenth century by Buontalenti to protect the Pitti Palace, consists of a main building and large terraces overlooking the city.These terraces are now part of a public promenade in Florence.