Porta San Giorgio and the Forte di Belvedere
Why is it significant?
Stand under the arch of the gate and look up at the stone panel on the outer face: a knight on horseback driving his lance into a twisting dragon. Saint George, patron of this gate, of this hill and of the steep street you have just climbed.
Key Facts
| Place | Porta San Giorgio and the Forte di Belvedere |
|---|---|
| Address | Costa San Giorgio, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy |
| Geo Coordinates | 43.76290, 11.25500 |
| Part of Walk | Florence's Green Hill: Bardini Garden, San Miniato & Piazzale Michelangelo |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand under the arch of the gate and look up at the stone panel on the outer face: a knight on horseback driving his lance into a twisting dragon. Saint George, patron of this gate, of this hill and of the steep street you have just climbed.
Porta San Giorgio was built in 1324, and it is the oldest gate still standing in the walls of Florence. The relief you see is a copy; the original was moved indoors to protect it. Inside the arch, look for the faded fresco of the Madonna between two saints, painted in the fifteenth century by Bicci di Lorenzo for travellers and guards who wanted a blessing on the way in or out.
Now turn to the great sloping walls beside the gate. That is the Forte di Belvedere, built between 1590 and 1595 by Bernardo Buontalenti for Grand Duke Ferdinando de' Medici. Officially it defended Florence from foreign armies. But notice which way the guns could point... down, over the rooftops, at the Florentines themselves, who had thrown the Medici out more than once. The Grand Dukes could retreat here directly from the Pitti Palace through their own gardens.
Legend says the Medici kept their treasure hidden in a secret chamber inside the fort, and that only the Grand Duke and a few trusted men knew how to open it. Today the fort is used for summer exhibitions, and its ramparts offer one of the widest views in the city.
Now look the other way, outside the gate, down Via di San Leonardo. Within a few steps the city simply stops: stone walls, cypresses, and grey-green olive groves, still harvested every autumn. In 1878 Tchaikovsky spent several weeks in a villa along this lane, and wrote happily about the quiet. Our route turns left instead, along Via di Belvedere, which follows the outside of the medieval walls downhill.