WALKING TOUR:
Hills of Florence
Florence is blessed with a natural landscape of exquisite beauty. The city is surrounded by a backdrop of lush hills. The hills have been populated for centuries, but development on the hills has occurred quite differently from the rest of the city down in the valley. The estates of prominent Florentines have occupied what were once forested hills, and the area has slowly been transformed into a semi-rural environment – a uniquely elegant “urban countryside.”
Our itinerary begins in the hills that are closest to the city, and ends in the heart of the city itself, near the Arno river. Among the places visited are:
The Medieval Walls. On the south side of the city, the Medieval city walls are still intact. Walking from the city core through the 800-year old city gate and up next to the ancient walls is an unforgettable experience that truly brings back in time.
Piazzale Michelangelo. This ‘balcony over the city’ has the most beautiful view over Florence, as you can see in the front page of our website.
San Miniato al Monte. On the neighboring hill is the millenary abbey of San Miniato, where the unique elegance of the Florentine Romanesque style manifests itself in the green and white marble geometric ornamentation and the majestic gold mosaics of the apse. This is one of Florence’s oldest and most astonishing monuments.
Arcetri. Slightly farther from the city core, this is the area is where Galileo spent some of most salient years of his life. Here, the landscape is almost rural: the views extend into the hills of Chianti, where one can catch a glimpse of the much-celebrated landscape typical of the Tuscan region: olive and cypress trees, villas and castles.