The Piazzale Michelangiolo

The greatest viewpoint over Florence

* Piazzale Michelangiolo
Piazzale Michelangiolo
Always open

Sights nearby
* San Miniato al Monte [church]
** Pitti Palace [palace/museum/garden]
*** Ponte Vecchio [bridge]
Santo Spirito [church]
** Santa Maria della Carmine [church]

Where to eat nearby
* EnotecaBar Fuori Porta [snack/light meal]
Le Volpe e l'Uva [snack]
* La Casalinga [meal]
* Il Cantinone [meal]

Hotels nearby
Reid Recommends Camping Michelangelo [super-cheap]
Villa La Vedetta [premier/splurge]
Hotel Silla [moderate]
Hotel David [moderate/premier]
Residence Michelangiolo [moderate]
Hotel River [cheap/moderate]
Park Palace [moderate]
» More hotels near Pz. Michelangiolo

ReidsItaly.com Florence Map

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TOURS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS that include Florence

Intrepid Travel
Intrepid Travel 2011 Italy trips
• Best of ItalyPartner (15 days)
• Italy ExperiencePartner (15 days)
• Classic ItalyPartner (21 days)
• Italy Family AdventurePartner (14 days)
• Highlights of ItalyPartner (8 days)
• Tuscan ExpressPartner (7 days)

Gap Adventures
G Adventures 2011 Italy trips
• Ultimate ItalyPartner (13 days)
• Italy Culture and History Explored (9 days)
• The Taste of TuscanyPartner (8 days)
• Venice to Rome AdventurePartner (8 days)
• Italy Family AdventurePartner (10 days)

iExplore
iExplore Italy trips 2011
• Italy Experience (9 days)
• Italy in Style (9 days)
• Magical Tuscany & Portofino Peninsula (10 days)
• Tuscan Delights (8 days)
• Splendors of Italy & Southern France (16 days)

View from the Piazza MichelangeloThe panorama of Florence from Piazzale Michelangiolo. (Photo by Leo1383)This is the cityscape you see on all the postcards, a low-level panorama across the medieval and Renaissance domes and spires of the city.

This is why every tour of Italy makes an obligatory stop at this piazza laid out in 1875, so there's usually a horde of giant buses rumbling and belching as they wait for their charges to scurry out, snap a few photographs, and hop back on board.

The monument at the center of the piazza is an 1871 composite of several famous Michelangelo works, a pastiche (the official art word for a mashup) of The David (real one in the Accademia) perched atop a base around which lounge the Dawn, Night, Day, and Dusk figures from the Medici tombs.

The composite Michelangelo monument on Piazzale Michelangiolo
The composite Michelangelo monument on Piazzale Michelangiolo. (Photo by Maksim)By the way, I did not misspell the name of this place. "Michelangiolo" is an old variant on "Michelangelo" and it is the square's official name—though you will frequently find guidebooks, brochures, and even official maps that incorrectly label it "Piazzale Michelangelo."

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This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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