Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Palazzo Vecchio overlooks piazza della Signoria

The Palazzo Vecchio (Italian pronunciation: [paˈlattso ˈvɛkkjo] "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy.

Palazzo Vecchio

Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale, in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti.

Entrance with frontispiece

Entrance

Above the front entrance door, there is a notable ornamental marble frontispiece, dating from 1528. In the middle, flanked by two gilded lions, is the Monogram of Christ, surrounded by a glory, above the text (in Latin): "Rex Regum et Dominus Dominantium" (translation: "Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords". This text dates from 1851 and does not replace an earlier text by Savonarola as mentioned in guidebooks. Between 1529 and 1851 they were concealed behind a large shield with the grand-ducal coat of arms.

Courtyard with Putto with Dolphin by Verrocchio. An excellent copy is in the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Michelangelo's David also stood at the entrance from its completion in 1504 to 1873, when it was moved to the Accademia Gallery. A replica erected in 1910 now stands in its place, flanked by Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus.

First courtyard

The Courtyards

First Courtyard

The first courtyard was designed in 1453 by Michelozzo. In the lunettes, high around the courtyard, are crests of the Church and City Guilds. In the center, the porphyry fountain is by Battista del Tadda. The Putto with Dolphin on top of the basin is a copy of the original by Andrea del Verrocchio (1476), now on display on the second floor of the palace. This small statue was originally placed in the garden of the villa of the Medici in Careggi. The water, flowing through the nose of the dolphin, is brought here by pipes from the Boboli Gardens.

Salone dei Cinquecento

In the niche, in front of the fountain, stands Samson and Philistine by Pierino da Vinci.

The frescoes on the walls, representing scenes of the Austrian Habsburg estates, were painted in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari for the wedding celebration of Francesco I de' Medici, the eldest son of Cosimo I de' Medici, and Johanna of Austria, sister of the Emperor Maximilian. The harmoniously proportioned columns, at one time smooth, and untouched, were at the same time richly decorated with gilt stuccoes.

The barrel vaults are furnished with grotesque decorations.

Genio della Vittoria by Michelangelo

Second Courtyard

The second courtyard, also called "The Customs", contains the massive pillars built in 1494 by Cronaca to sustain the great "Salone dei Cinquecento" on the second floor.

Palazzo Vecchio from Uffizi Gallery

Third Courtyard

The third courtyard was used mainly for offices of the city. Between the first and second courtyard the massive and monumental stairs by Vasari lead up to the "Salone dei Cinquecento".

Second Floor

A staircase, designed by Vasari leads to the second floor. This floor contains the Chapel of Signoria, the Hall of Justice ("Sala delle Udienze"), the Room of the Lilies (Sala dei Gigli), the Study Room and the Apartments of the Elements.

Polychrome "Madonna and Child"

The Apartments of the Elements

These apartments (Sala degli Elementi) consist of five rooms (such as the Room of Ceres) and two loggias. The commission for these rooms was originally given by Cosimo I to Battista del Tasso. But on his death, the decorations were continued by Vasari and his helpers, working for the first time for the Medicis. These rooms were the private quarters of Cosimo I.

The walls in the Room of the Elements are filled with allegorical frescoes Allegories of Water, Fire and Earth and, on the ceiling, represents Saturn.

The original statue "Boy with a Fish" by Verrocchio is on exhibit in one of the smaller rooms (the copy stands on the fountain in the first courtyard).

Stipo, an ebony cabinet

Terrace of Saturn

Named for the fresco on the ceiling. Has a fabulous view of Florence. There is a southeastern view to Piazzale Michelangelo and the Fortress Belvedere. Also visible are the remains of the Church of San Piero Scheraggio.

Life of Furius Camillus in the Sala dell'Udienza

The Hercules Room

This room (the Sala di Ercole) gets its name from the subject of the paintings on the ceiling. Also the tapestries show stories of Hercules. The room contains a Madonna and Child and an ebony cabinet called a stipo inlaid with semi-precious stones.

Frescoes in the Hall of Lilies

The Lion House

Cosimo the Elder kept a menagerie of lions in a dedicated lion house in the palazzo. He often fought them or baited them against other animals in large festivals for visiting Popes or dignitaries.

Ceiling with fleur-de-lys

The Room of Jupiter

The room is named for the fresco on the ceiling. On the walls are Florentine tapestries made from cartoons by Stradano (16th century).

Map of the British Isles by Ignazio Danti

The Room of Cybele

On the ceiling, the Triumph of Cybele and the Four Seasons. Against the walls are cabinets in tortoise shell and bronze. The floor was made in 1556. From the window one can see the third courtyard.

The "mappa mundi"

The Ceres Room

The room gets its name from the motif on the ceiling, by Doceno, a pupil of Vasari. On the walls are Florentine tapestries with hunting scenes, from cartoons by Stradano.

Bust of Niccolò Machiavelli

Sala Verde

Called the Green Room because of the color of the walls. With decorations on the ceiling by Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio. On the right is the Chapel frescoed by Bronzino (1564) with the Stories of Moses. Also by Bronzino is the large Pietà on the altar. The small door in the room indicates the beginning of the Vasari corridor, a passageway to the Palazzo Pitti built by Vasari for Cosimo I.

The Room of the Sabines

It was named because of the ceiling decoration. At one time it was used for the Ladies-in- waiting at the court of Eleonora di Toledo. It contains Portraits of Medici Princes by Sustermans, statues by a Florentine art school and a tapestry by Fevère.

Dining Room

On the ceiling is the Coronation of Esther decorated by Stradano, with an inscription in honor of Eleonora di Toledo. The room contains a lavabo and two tapestries by Van Assel representing Spring and Autumn.

The Room of Penelope

On the ceiling Penelope at the loom, in the frieze, episodes from the Odyssey. On the walls: Madonna and Child and a Madonna and Child with St. John by Botticelli.

Private Chamber of Eleanor

Originally called the '"Room of Gualdrada"' from the subject of the ceiling painting, this room was one of the private rooms of Eleonora of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. The paintings are by the Flemish painter Jan Stradan, better known under his Italian name Stradone. Against the wall is a cabinet with Florentine mosaic designs.

The adjoining, richly decorated chapel is painted in fresco by the mannerist Angelo Bronzino. It includes some of his masterpieces including Crossing the Red Sea.

Sala dell'Udienza

The Audience Chamber or Hall of Justice used to house the meetings of the six priori (guild masters of the arts). It contains the oldest decorations in the palace.

The carved coffer ceiling, laminated with pure gold, is by Giuliano da Maiano (1470-1476).

On the portal of the Chapel is an inscription in honor of Christ (1529). The door, communicating with the Hall of Lilies, is a marvel. The marble mouldings of this portal were sculpted by the brothers Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano. Its inlaid woodwork (intarsia) was carved by Del Francione. They give us portraits of Dante and Petrarch

The large frescoes on the walls, of a decorative value representing Stories of Furius Camillus, by Francesco Salviati, were made in the middle of the 16th century. Since Salviati had his schooling in the circle around Raphael in Rome, these frescoes are mirrored on Roman models and therefore not typical of Florentine art. Furius Camillus was a Roman general, mentioned in the writings of Plutarchus.

Chapel of the Signoria

A small doorway leads into the adjoining small chapel dedicated to St. Bernard, containing a reliquary of the Saint. Here the priors used to supply divine aid in the execution of their duties. In this chapel, Girolamo Savonarola said his last prayers before he was burned to death on the Piazza della Signoria.

The marvellous frescoes on the walls and ceiling, on a background imitating gold mosaic, are by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Of particular interest are The Holy Trinity on the ceiling and The Annunciation on the wall facing the altar. On the altar was a painting representing the Holy Family by Mariano Graziadei da Pescia, a pupil of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. It is now on exhibition in the corridor of the Uffizi Gallery. Instead, there is a good painting of St. Bernard by an unknown artist.

The carved ceiling of the Hall of the Lilies, as this room is usually called, decorated with fleur-de-lys, and the Statue of St. John the Baptist and Putti are all by Benedetto da Maiano and his brother Giuliano. The goldenfleur-de-lys decorations on blue background on the ceiling and three walls refer to the (short-lived) good relations between Florence and the French Crown.

On the wall are frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, painted in 1482. The apotheosis of St. Zenobius, first patron saint of Florence, was painted with a perspectival illusion of the background. In this background one can see the Cathedral, with Giotto's original facade and bell tower. In the lunette above is a bas-relief of the Madonna and Child. This fresco is flanked on both sides by frescoes of famed Romans: on the left Brutus, Gaius Mucius Scaevola and Camillus, and on the right Decius, Scipio and Cicero. Medaillons of Roman emperors fill the spandrils between the sections.

The door in this wall leads to the Stanza della Guardaroba (Hall of Geographical Maps). This door is flanked by two dark marble pillars, originally from a Roman temple.

After its lengthy restoration, the (original) statue "Judith and Holofernes" by Donatello was given a prominent place in this room in 1988.

Stanza del Guardaroba

The Hall of Geographical Maps or Wardrobe is where the Medici Grand Dukes kept their precious belongings. The cabinets and carved ceiling are by Dionigi Nigetti.

The doors of the cabinets were decorated with 53 remarkable maps of scientific interest, oil paintings by the Dominican monk Fra Ignazio Danti (1563-1575), brother of the sculptor Vincenzo Danti, and Stefano Buonsignori (1575-1584). They are of great historical interest and give a good idea of the geographical knowledge in the 16th century. Danti followed the Ptolemaic system, while already using the new cartographical system of Gerardus Mercator.

In the center of the room is the large globe "mappa mundi" ruined by excessive restorations.

Old Chancellery

This was Machiavelli's office when he was Secretary of the Republic. His polychrome bust in terracotta and his portrait are by Santi di Tito. They are probably modelled on his death mask. In the center of the room, on the pedestal is the famous Winged Boy with a Dolphin by Verrocchio, brought to this room from the First Courtyard.

The Study (Studiolo)

The reassembled room was used by Cellini to restore the treasures of the Medici princes. From the little window in the wall, Cosimo I spied on his ministers and officers, during meetings in the Salone dei Cinquecento. It became a museum of mannerist paintings.

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