Overview

Forming part of Florence's old 14th-century fortifications, of which there are still solid traces, the two walls spread out from the gate towards Piazza Tasso to the east and to the north-west along the Viali dei Colli. As with the Porta San Frediano, the two great, wooden bolted doors have been conserved. On the square opposite, towards the Poggio Imperiale, a statue by an important contemporary artist, Michelangelo Pistoletto, has been erected. Cast in marble and entitled "Dietrofronte", the statue depicts a woman whose imaginary movement southwards to leave the city is hindered by a heavy bundle on her head which points in the opposite direction towards the city center.