Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte
The climb to the great terrace, then the quietest Romanesque church in Florence above it. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Porta San Niccolò
Start at the foot of the climb, at the one medieval gate Florence never lowered to the city's later wall height — so it still stands full and square by the river. Stretch here; the next ten minutes are all up.

2. Rampe del Poggi
Take the ramps, not the stairs — Giuseppe Poggi's looping terraces of grottoes and little fountains, restored a few years back and far prettier than the direct steps. The city opens a little more at each turn.

3. Piazzale Michelangelo
The terrace everyone means when they say the view of Florence: the duomo, the tower, the Arno's bridges, the hills behind. There's a bronze copy of the *David* in the middle and a café behind. Come early; the coach groups arrive mid-morning.

4. San Salvatore al Monte
A short climb above the piazzale, the church Michelangelo called his *bella villanella* — his pretty country girl. Plainer and emptier than San Miniato just up the slope. A good pause in the cypresses.

5. San Miniato al Monte
The reason to keep climbing. A green-and-white marble facade from the 11th century, an inlaid marble floor of zodiac signs and beasts, and a crypt below. If the monks are singing Gregorian chant at the late-afternoon service, sit and stay.

6. The monumental cemetery (Porte Sante)
Behind the church, the walled cemetery where Carlo Collodi, who wrote *Pinocchio*, lies among Florentine families under cypresses. Quiet, formal, and almost never busy. Walk back down to the piazzale for the Bus 12 into town.

Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte