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Firenze

If you go up to the piazzale Michelangelo there are a lot of little narrow roads one can take, and mileage varies. For a nice loop start from the San Niccolò bridge once called by Florentines ponte di ferro (the iron bridge) located on the Arno river in Piazza Ferrucci, at the base of the Viale dei Colli. You run up Viale dei Colli, passing by the "Assi Giglio Rosso" running track (open only to members) on your right. Then you cross Piazzale Michelangelo, admire the copy of the statue of the David, and look out for a fantastic panorama of the city: the best spot is on the left side, as you can see the Duomo (cathedral) and Ponte Vecchio, Forte Belvedere (the name literally means "Beautiful-View" Fort, and was once a Medici family residence) and part of the leftover walls of Firenze. Then you keep running until you run into a traffic light. Here you turn right into Via San Leonardo and follow this which is considered the most beautiful road of the city (with its typical walls of the countryside on both sides) and reach Forte Belvedere on your left, right before an old door of the city. If you go right before the door you will follow a steep road going down to the next door called Porta San Miniato, you cross it and turn right following Via San Niccolò which will end in front of another door, Porta San Niccolò in Piazza Poggi (the name of this square is the name of the architect who designed piazzale Michelangelo, there is a plaque in his memory on the opposite side of the Piazzale Michelangelo) right on the Lungarno Serristori and Lungarno Cellini between Ponte San Niccolò on your right (you can head back to the bridge and end the loop) and Ponte alle Grazie on your left heading towards Ponte Vecchio and the center of Firenze. If you go towards the center you can continue and run a longer loop - before choosing to cross any of the bridges you will find on your way to head back to Ponte San Niccolò - and you will pass by Ponte alle Grazie, Ponte Vecchio, Ponte Santa Trinita (recommended for the beautiful view that you have on Ponte Vecchio on your right; to reach this bridge the road won't directly be on the river, but you have to head straight through the cute street named Borgo San Jacopo up to Piazza Frescobaldi), Ponte alla Carraia, Ponte Vespucci (dedicated to Amerigo Vespucci: the name "America" comes from "Amerigo" who discovered America before Cristoforo Colombo), Ponte della Vittoria. Crossing Ponte della Vittoria you have two more choices: if you go left you will enter in the Parco delle Cascine, if you go right you are heading back to Ponte San Niccolò. You are now on the same side of the river where the Duomo is. On your way, you will find (in order) the American Consulate building on a nice wide street with some traffic, then a narrow street with limited traffic, a narrow street with many souvenir stores and no traffic (except mopeds and scooters), the arches of the Uffizi gallery, the National library building. Here the trafic resumes but you are almost at the end of your loop.


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