Italy, Florence, view across to San Miniato al Monte from Forte di Belvedere, with many cypress trees.

Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley

Forte di Belvedere

Boboli & San Miniato al Monte


Forte di Belvedere is a rambling fort designed by Bernardo Buontalenti for Grand Duke Ferdinando I at the end of the 16th century. From the massive bulwark, soldiers kept watch on four fronts – as much for internal security as to protect the Palazzo Pitti against foreign attack. Today the fort hosts summertime art exhibitions, which are well worth a peek if only to revel in the sweeping city panorama that can be had from the fort. Outside of exhibition times, the fort is closed.

To get here from Piazza de' Mozzi, turn east down Via dei Renai, past leafy Piazza Nicola Demidoff, dedicated to the 19th-century Russian philanthropist who lived nearby in Via di San Niccolò. At the end of Via dei Renai, turn right onto Via di San Niccolò; walk east to emerge at the tower marking Torre San Niccolò, all that is left of the city walls. To get an idea of what the walls were once like, walk south from Chiesa di San Niccolò Oltrarno through Porta San Miniato. The wall extends a short way to the east and for a stretch further west, up a steep hill that leads you to the fortress.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Boboli & San Miniato al Monte attractions

2. Museo delle Porcellane

0.1 MILES

Housed in the 18th-century Palazzina del Cavaliere in the Boboli Gardens, this small museum houses an exquisite collection of European porcelain. Many…

3. Villa e Giardino Bardini

0.13 MILES

This 17th-century villa and garden was named after 19th-century antiquarian art collector Stefano Bardini (1836–1922), who bought it in 1913 and restored…

4. Giardino di Boboli

0.18 MILES

Behind Palazzo Pitti, the fountain- and sculpture-adorned Boboli Gardens – slowly but surely being restored to their former pristine glory thanks to a €2…

5. Galleria d'Arte Moderna

0.23 MILES

Forget about Marini, Mertz or Clemente – the collection of Palazzo Pitti's Galleria d’Arte Moderna is dominated by late-19th-century works by artists of…

6. Galleria Palatina

0.23 MILES

Raphaels and Rubens vie for centre stage in the enviable collection of 16th- to 18th-century art amassed by the Medici and Lorraine dukes in Palazzo Pitti…

7. Appartamenti Reali

0.23 MILES

Palazzo Pitti's Appartamenti Reali are presented as they were c 1880–91, when they were occupied by members of the House of Savoy. The style and division…

8. Via de' Bardi

0.24 MILES

Walking east from Ponte Vecchio, the first stretch of Via de' Bardi shows clear signs of its recent history. This entire area was flattened by German…