Boutique Hotel near Piazzale Michelangelo

The View That Defines Florence

Piazzale Michelangelo is the panoramic terrace that holds the most reproduced view of Florence in the world. From its long balustrade on the south side of the Arno, the entire centro storico unfolds below: the brick mass of Brunelleschi's Dome rising from the cathedral square, the bell tower of Giotto beside it, the great crenellated tower of Palazzo Vecchio in the middle distance, the line of Ponte Vecchio and the bridges further upstream, the Arno itself winding from the Cascine on the west to the hills of the Casentino on the east, and the green ridge of Fiesole closing the horizon. The terrace was designed and built between 1865 and 1869 by the architect Giuseppe Poggi as part of the urban renovation that followed Florence's brief tenure as the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy. At the centre stands a large bronze copy of Michelangelo's David, cast in 1873, surrounded by bronze copies of the four allegorical figures from the Medici Chapels. The piazzale is free to visit and accessible at all hours. From Relais La Capricciosa, it lies a twenty-five-minute uphill walk via the Oltrarno or a twelve-minute drive.

Why Sunset Is the Right Time

Florence is at its most beautiful from the Piazzale at sunset. As the late-afternoon light turns gold, the marble of the cathedral facade and Giotto's bell tower begins to glow against the lengthening shadows of the streets below. The terracotta tiles of the Dome catch the last sun. The Arno, looking westward from the Piazzale, becomes a ribbon of copper running into the disc of the setting sun behind the Cascine. The lights of the city come on one by one, the Palazzo Vecchio tower is illuminated, and for a brief window of perhaps twenty minutes the entire urban panorama balances between daylight and the blue hour. We recommend arriving thirty to forty minutes before official sunset, both to choose a position on the balustrade and to watch the light shift. The crowd is considerable in summer; in winter and shoulder seasons, the Piazzale at sunset is one of the most extraordinary and accessible experiences in Florence. Our concierge provides daily sunset times and can arrange a private driver for those who prefer the climb in reverse.

San Miniato al Monte: Higher and Quieter

Just above the Piazzale, a further three minutes' climb on stone steps, stands one of the finest Romanesque buildings in Tuscany: the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte. Constructed between 1018 and 1207 over the supposed burial site of Saint Miniato, Florence's first Christian martyr, the basilica has a green-and-white marble facade inlaid in geometric patterns that became the model for the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The interior is an early-medieval treasury: a marble inlaid floor with zodiac signs from 1207, the Cappella del Crocifisso designed by Michelozzo with terracotta vaulting by Luca della Robbia, the Renaissance-era Cardinal of Portugal Chapel decorated by Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino, Luca della Robbia, and Alesso Baldovinetti between 1461 and 1466. Benedictine monks still occupy the adjoining monastery, and at certain hours they sing Gregorian chant during Vespers. To visit San Miniato is to step out of tourist Florence into a place that has continued, more or less unchanged, for a thousand years. The cemetery beside the basilica, the Cimitero delle Porte Sante, holds the tomb of Carlo Collodi, the creator of Pinocchio.

The Walking Route: Via Porta Rossa to the Piazzale

For guests who enjoy a substantial walk, the twenty-five-minute climb from Relais La Capricciosa to Piazzale Michelangelo is one of the great urban hikes in Italy. Leave our entrance at number 23, turn right onto Via Porta Rossa, and walk south to Via Por Santa Maria. Cross Ponte Vecchio onto the south bank of the Arno. Turn left along Via dei Bardi, then continue east as the street becomes Via San Niccolò. Follow Via San Niccolò to the medieval Porta San Niccolò, the surviving gate of the old city walls. From the gate, climb either the long flights of stone steps that ascend the hillside directly behind the gate, or take the more gradual Viale dei Colli, a tree-lined road that winds upward. Both routes converge at the Piazzale. The climb is steady but not steep; comfortable shoes and a bottle of water are useful. The total elevation gain from the Arno to the terrace is roughly eighty metres. The return, with the light failing and the city glowing below, is downhill and easy. Bus 12 or 13 from Piazza San Marco offers a transport alternative; taxis from Via Porta Rossa typically take twelve minutes.

Giuseppe Poggi and the Post-Unification Florence

Piazzale Michelangelo is not a survival from the Renaissance. It is a nineteenth-century monument designed at a specific moment of Italian history, and that history is worth understanding. Between 1865 and 1871, Florence served as the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, and the city undertook a massive urban renewal programme directed by the architect Giuseppe Poggi. The medieval walls were demolished and replaced by the ring road of the Viali; new boulevards were cut through the city; and a panoramic drive, the Viale dei Colli, was carved along the hills south of the Arno to provide a fashionable promenade. The Piazzale at the highest point of this drive was conceived as a celebration of Michelangelo, both the artist of Florence and the symbol of Italian creative genius. Poggi designed not only the terrace itself but also the neo-classical loggia behind it, which was intended to house a museum of Michelangelo's works and is today a panoramic restaurant. To stand on the Piazzale and look at the city below is to look through the eyes of nineteenth-century Italians who, having just made a country, wanted a vantage point from which to admire its most beautiful city.

Beyond the Piazzale: The Iris Garden and the Rose Garden

Two small gardens beside the Piazzale reward visitors who time their visit to spring. The Giardino dell'Iris is open free of charge only between late April and late May, when the iris — the symbol of Florence — blooms in over two thousand cultivars on terraced slopes laid out in 1957. The international iris breeding competition held here is one of the most important in the world. Beside it, the Giardino delle Rose offers free admission from morning until sunset and contains more than four hundred and fifty rose varieties, ten Japanese tree species, and twelve bronze sculptures by the Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon installed in 2011. Both gardens face the city panorama, so a morning visit becomes a quieter alternative to the crowded sunset on the Piazzale itself. Our concierge can advise on bloom dates and arrange a pre-sunset garden walk that ends at the Piazzale balustrade as the light turns gold.

How the Piazzale Fits a Florence Itinerary

Piazzale Michelangelo is not a destination for the first morning in Florence. Its meaning is cumulative: it works as a viewpoint precisely because, after several days of walking the streets below, you finally see the city as a single composition. We recommend the Piazzale for the end of a stay, ideally on the penultimate evening, after you have walked across Ponte Vecchio, climbed the Dome, stood in Piazza della Signoria, and visited the Uffizi. Standing on the balustrade with that experience behind you, the city below becomes a map of your own week in Florence, and the Dome, the tower, and the river take on the resonance of places you now know. From Relais La Capricciosa, a sunset visit can be combined with dinner in San Niccolò or in the Oltrarno on the way back, returning to Via Porta Rossa under streetlamps along the Arno.