PALAZZO VECCHIO

A building of exceptional historic and artistic importance, for more than seven centuries Palazzo Vecchio has stood as the symbol of Florentine civil power.
The way we see it today is the result of a long series of expansion and remodelling projects dating from the first three centuries of its long history.

Built between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th centuries, it was most likely designed by Arnolfo di Cambio to house the city's supreme governing bodies, the Priors of the Arts and the Gonfalonier (Standard - bearers) of Justice. In 1540 it became the residence of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici.
The most significant alterations date from this period. In order to make the building fit to house the city's ruling family, the duke subjected the interior spaces to a comprehensive program of remodelling and decorative projects that was primarily carried out under the direction of the painter and architect, Giorgio Vasari.
This ambitious project was not concluded until after Cosimo's death, near the end of the century.
By the time all this work had been completed, however, the court had already been moved to the family's new residence, Palazzo Pitti.
This is why from that moment on the building came to be known as Palazzo Vecchio, or the Old Palace.

The sixteenth-century arrangement of the building has been partially altered in recent centuries in order for it to serve a variety of diff e rent functions. During this later period the Palazzo was used to house at first the administrative offices of the Grand duke and then the Provisional governor of Tuscany; between 1865 and 1871, when Florence was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, it housed the Chamber of Deputies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since 1871 it has served as the City Hall, housing the municipal administration. The tour begins in the Cortile di Michelozzo, adorned with fine stucco work and frescoes, and continues on the first floor with the grandiose Salone dei Cinquecento where the decorative paintings by Vasari celebrate the apotheosis of the Medici family and Cosimo in particular. Here the visitor finds a rich array of statues accompanying the Genio della Vittoria, a masterpiece by Michelangelo.

On the second floor are located the Quartiere degli Elementi and the Quartiere di Eleonora, formal reception rooms utilized by the Medici court and boasting magnificent decorations.

The frescoes are outstanding as well as the oil on board paintings by Agnolo Bronzino in the Cappella di Eleonora.
The fifteenth-century decorations have been conserved in the large reception rooms known as the Udienza and the Gigli, where it is possible to admire the famous bronze group by Donatello, Giuditta e Oloferne. In the Sala delle Carte Geografiche a world globe of extraordinary dimensions and fifty-three painted panels offer a panorama of the entire world known at the time of Cosimo I.

The Quartiere del Mezzaninohouses the Loeser Collection, including invaluable paintings and sculptures, such as the Ritratto di Laura Battiferri by Agnolo Bronzino.