Piazzale Michelangelo is a monumental terrace on the San Miniato hillside, designed by Giuseppe Poggi during the brief period, from 1865 to 1871, when Florence served as capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy. Poggi's brief was to modernize the city for its new political status, and this belvedere, part of a wider ring of boulevards replacing the old walls, was meant to give Florence a grand civic viewpoint worthy of a capital, even after the government moved on to Rome a few years later. At its center stands a bronze copy of Michelangelo's David, accompanied by bronze copies of the four allegorical figures from the Medici Chapel, Dawn, Dusk, Day and Night; the originals stay safely in their intended locations across the river. In 2021, UNESCO formally extended the boundary of the Historic Centre of Florence World Heritage property to include the piazzale, recognizing the terrace itself, not just the view from it, as part of the city's designed heritage.
Designed by Giuseppe Poggi as part of Florence's nineteenth-century capital-era transformations, the piazzale is an urban landscape work rather than a Renaissance monument.
Sources and citations (2)
- Comune di FirenzePiazzale MichelangeloPlace descriptionRead source
- UNESCOHistoric Centre of Florence boundary modificationApproved 2021 boundary modificationRead source
