Fortified palace from the 13th century with richly decorated rooms and elaborate courtyards.
Old Palace (Palazzo Vecchio) is located in Signoria square (Piazza della Signoria) in Florence and is the seat of the Municipality. It represents the best synthesis of the city's fourteenth-century civil architecture and is one of the most famous civic buildings in the world.
Originally called "Palazzo dei Priori", in the 15th century it became "Palazzo della Signoria", from the name of the main body of the Republic of Florence; in 1540 it became Palazzo Ducale, when Duke Cosimo I de 'Medici made it his residence; finally the name Vecchio took it after 1565 when the court of Duke Cosimo moved to the "new" Palazzo Pitti. From 1865 to 1871 it was the seat of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, while today it houses the Mayor of Florence and various municipal offices.
There is also a museum, which allows you to visit the magnificent rooms where, among others, Agnolo Bronzino, Ghirlandaio, Giorgio Vasari worked, and where works by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Donatello, Verrocchio are exhibited.
The building has gradually enlarged towards the east, occupying an entire block and extending the initial fourteenth-century parallelepiped to quadruple its size, with a plan reminiscent of a trapezoid of which the façade is only the shorter side. On the main ashlar facade, the Arnolfo Tower is one of the emblems of the city.
Old Palace
Address: Piazza della Signoria, 50122
Phone: 055 276 8325
Site:
http://museicivicifiorentini.comune.fi.it/palazzovecchioLocation inserted by
Stefano Vigolo