Explorer Pontassieve

Piazzale Michelangelo is a terrace on the hill south of the Arno, laid out by the architect Giuseppe Poggi in 1869 during the years Florence was Italy's capital. It looks over the river, its bridges and the historic centre with the Cathedral dome, and in its middle stands a bronze copy of Michelangelo's David.

San Miniato al Monte is a Romanesque basilica on one of the highest points of Florence, above Piazzale Michelangelo, begun in 1013 over the tomb of the martyr St Minias. Its white and green marble façade carries a 13th-century mosaic of Christ, and Olivetan Benedictine monks in the adjoining abbey sing their services in Gregorian chant.

Piazza della Signoria is the square in front of Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of Florence's government since the 14th century. Around it stand the Loggia dei Lanzi with sculptures such as Cellini's Perseus, Ammannati's Fountain of Neptune, Giambologna's equestrian statue of Cosimo I and a copy of Michelangelo's David at the palace entrance.

Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone bridge over the Arno, rebuilt in 1345 after a flood and lined on both sides with shops, today mostly jewellers and goldsmiths. The Vasari Corridor, built in 1565 for the Medici, runs along its upper level, and it was the only bridge in Florence not destroyed in the Second World War.