Piazza della Signoria: the open-air sculpture hall
Florence's civic square, the Loggia dei Lanzi marbles, and the Uffizi arcade down to the Arno. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Piazza della Signoria
The civic heart of the republic, and still an open-air gallery you don't pay to enter. Stand in the middle and take the whole edge — the fortress town hall, the loggia of statues, the great fountain — before you look at any one thing. Come early; by midday it's wall-to-wall.

2. Palazzo Vecchio and the David copy
The fortress town hall, still the mayor's office after seven centuries. The *David* at the door is a copy marking where Michelangelo's original stood until 1873 — the real one is up the road in the Accademia. The courtyard just inside is free; step in for Verrocchio's putto fountain.

3. Loggia dei Lanzi
An open vaulted porch turned permanent sculpture hall — Cellini's bronze *Perseus* holding Medusa's head, Giambologna's twisting *Rape of the Sabine*, a row of Roman matrons along the back. No ticket, no glass. Sit on the step under the arches and look up at the Perseus; it rewards a long stare.

4. Piazzale degli Uffizi
The narrow courtyard between the two wings of the *Uffizi*, the Medici's old offices turned gallery, with statues of Tuscan worthies in the ground-floor niches. You don't need a ticket to walk it — the corridor funnels you straight toward the river and frames the tower behind you as you go.

5. Lungarno degli Archibusieri
Out at the Arno, turn right along the riverbank under the arcade carrying the Vasari Corridor — the covered passage the Medici built so they could cross the city without touching the street. Look up at the small windows; that's the route, still sealed above your head.

6. Ponte Vecchio
End at the bridge of goldsmiths — shops have hung off its sides since the 1300s, butchers first, then jewellers when a Medici tired of the smell. Walk to the middle where the row breaks open for the river view, then double back or carry on into the *Oltrarno*.

Piazza della Signoria: the open-air sculpture hall