San Niccolo Tower
Florence Italy
2016

Florence holds surprises even for those who think they have seen and done it all!
One of these surprises is the majestic Torre diSan Niccolò, in Piazza Poggi, built in 1324 as a defense tower for the Oltrarno district and recently renovated and opened to the public.
The door is one of the most important elements to understand the city's history, given its place among the city walls built between the 13th and 14th centuries, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio to better protect the city. The new circle of walls was more solid and with new gates, including that of San Niccolò.
When Florence became capital of a newly united Italy (1865 - 1871), Arnolfo di Cambio's walls were destroyed to make room for new residents.

Torre di San Niccolò, which remained isolated after the destruction of the walls, is today one of the surviving historical testimonies of this piece of city history, as well as being the only tower in Florence that has not been "scapitozzata" ("decapitated"), shortened with respect to its original dimensions. At the end of its 160 steps it retains a fascinating walkway, now secured, from which visitors can enjoy a 360 degree view of Florence, with one-of-a-kind vistas.

The Tower of San Niccolò, once part of a gate or porta in the former defensive walls of Florence, is now located, isolated in piazza Giuseppe Poggi, in the district of Oltrarno, Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. The portal was first erected in 1324.
A 3-min walk from the Piazzale Michelangelo



Piazza Giuseppe Poggi is located in Florence between Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, the Lungarno Serristori and Via San Niccolo. Until 1911 it was called Piazza delle Mulina and then took its present name.
Sull ' Arno , outside the walls, there were mills operated by water from a canal fed by the river : the channel began upstream of the weir of San Niccolo, ran along the Lungarno Serristori, then fell into the Arno after the Ponte alle Grazie .
This channel also provided the driving force for mills of Renaio, located in Piazza delle Mulina di San Giorgio, the current Piazza Demidoff, which were built in the 1356 by the Florentine Republic , to cope with a possible destruction (by the enemy ) than those outside the walls.
The square is now dedicated to Giuseppe Poggi , the architect of the Piazzale Michelangelo and the ring road boulevards Florentines, who here created one of his most daring creations, with the series of ramps in neo-mannerist style that lead on to the square belvedere .
In the middle of the square there still stands the old Porta San Niccolo that, with its grandeur, looks like a tower.