Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
left of the grotto is the outer facade of the final leg of the Corridoio Vasariano (
Click here
) linking the palace with the Uffizi.
Giardino Bardini
GARDENS
(
www.bardinipeyron.it
;
entrances at Via de' Bardi 1r & Costa di San Giorgio 2; adult/EU reduced €10/free,
entry also included in Palazzo Pitti combined ticket 2 or 3; 8.15am-7.30pm summer, shorter hrs winter)
This tranquil retreat was named after art collector Stefano Bardini (1836-1922), who
bought the villa in 1913 and restored its medieval garden. Smaller and more manicured
than the Boboli, it has all the features of a quintessential Tuscan garden but is blessedly
free of the crowds that can be found in its neighbour. Inside the villa, the
Museo Roberto
10am-9pm Wed-Sun Apr-Oct)
hosts a collection of Capucci-designed haute couture and tem-
porary exhibitions.
A springtime stroll past the artificial grottos, orangery, marble statues and fountains is
idyllic. Beds of azaleas, peonies and wisteria bloom in April and May, irises in June. The
romantic
summer cafe
(open 10am to 6pm April to September) is set in a stone loggia over-
looking the Florentine skyline and is a wonderful spot for a
panino
lunch, ice cream or af-
ternoon tea.
Piazzale Michelangelo
Turn your back on the bevy of ticky-tacky souvenir stalls flogging
David
statues and box-
er shorts and take in the spectacular city panorama from this vast square, pierced by one
of Florence's two
David
copies (sunset here is particularly dramatic). It's a 10-minute up-
hill walk along the serpentine road, paths and steps that scale the hillside from the Arno
and Piazza Giuseppe Poggi; from Piazza San Niccolò walk uphill and bear left up the long
flight of steps signposted Viale Michelangelo. Or take bus 13.
VIEWPOINT
Basilica di San
Miniato al Monte
(
www.sanminiatoalmonte.it
;
Via Monte alle Croce; 8am-7pm May-Oct, 8am-noon & 3-6pm Nov-Apr)
Five minutes further uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo is this wonderful Romanesque
church, dedicated to St Minius, an early-Christian martyr in Florence who is said to have
flown to this spot after his death down in the town (or, if you want to believe an alternat-
ive version, walked up the hill head tucked underneath his arm).
CHURCH
