Torre San Niccolò, Florence

Torre San Niccolò is a city gate that now reads as a tall, solitary tower in Piazza Giuseppe Poggi. Its construction dates to 1324, as part of Florence’s defensive circuit. The design is associated with Arnolfo di Cambio, whose plans shaped the city walls.

Unlike the other Florentine gates, it kept its original height, while the battlements were added in the nineteenth century. Above the doorway, a fresco shows the Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Nicholas of Bari. On the rear side, three broad open arches belong to the former guard rooms.

The tower escaped demolition during nineteenth-century urban renewal because its elevated view across Florence made it worth preserving. The summit is reached by 160 steps.