Visiting Florence’s gates, towers and fortresses

Stories of war and of peace, of toil and of dreams, of courage and of fear. For hundreds of years they have protected Florence, a World Heritage city, and guarded its wonders. In the warmer months, the City of Florence and MUS.E run a full program of visits to the city’s most important pieces of architecture, giving the public the chance to enjoy unusual viewpoints over Florence and to explore the history of the city’s urban development.

Among the sites that can be visited is Porta San Frediano, in partnership with the Fondazione Angeli del Bello, which opens on weekend afternoons. In the same season, the Torre della Zecca and the Torre San Niccolò, whose restoration is now complete, can also be visited, with tours running every half hour.

To these the program adds visits to the Fortezza di San Giovanni, better known as the Fortezza da Basso, in partnership with Firenze Fiera on selected dates through the summer.

Between the late 1200s and the first decades of the 1300s, at the height of its growth, Florence saw the construction of an imposing ring of walls to protect and defend its urban fabric, a perimeter of more than 8 kilometers punctuated by a series of gates, towers and posterns.

Renewed in the modern age, as with the building of the Forte Belvedere and the Fortezza da Basso, the medieval defensive system was largely demolished in the 1860s, though a significant stretch of wall survives in the Oltrarno, along with the gates and towers, which the city administration has been progressively restoring and reappraising. This is an important chapter in the city’s history: it is no accident that the original Arnolfian line ideally marks the boundaries of the historic center of Florence as a World Heritage Site, with its recent extension toward San Miniato.

All of the visits are developed in line with the principles of UNESCO and the 2030 Agenda, and are designed to encourage ever more effective enjoyment of Florence’s cultural and landscape heritage by occasional visitors and the local community alike.

Good to know

The visits to the gates, towers and fortresses are open to everyone aged 8 and over. Tickets cost around €6 each (the fortress visits a little more), and are free for holders of the Card del Fiorentino. Tours generally run on weekend afternoons during the warmer months.

Information and bookings: 055 2768224, info@musefirenze.it and www.musefirenze.it