Palazzo Vecchio — Attraction in Florence

The beautiful Palazzo Vecchio offers us mysteries, puzzles, secret passages and a trip back into history to three eras. Palazzo Vecchio offers Roman ruins, a Medieval fortress and amazing Renaissance chambers and paintings. A microcosm where art and history have been indissolubly bound for centuries. Its significance and beauty is immeasurable. And its history is extremely interesting. Palazzo Vecchio is the main symbol of civil power for the city of Florence, whose original project is attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio. Construction on the solid fortress began in 1299 above the ruins of the destroyed Uberti Ghibelline towers, testimony of the final victory of the Guelph faction. From the very beginning, the main section of Palazzo Vecchio was destined to host the city council which was composed of chief members the Guilds of Florence (the Priori) who governed the Republic of Florence. In 1342, the Duke of Athens, Walter VI of Brienne, enlarged Palazzo della Signoria towards Via della Ninna, giving it the appearance of a fortress and even adding a secret staircase for nightly exits. The Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the Five Hundred) was built from 1494 during the Republic of Fra’ (friar) by Girolamo Savonarola. The Hall is the largest and most important room in terms of artistic and historical value inside the palace. Paneled ceilings and large wall frescoes, golden decorations and imposing sculptures leave us breathless. When the court of Medici was transferred to Palazzo Vecchio (from Palazzo Medici-Riccardi), it was transformed into a fascinating labyrinth of institutional chambers, apartments, terraces and courtyards. All of the rooms (the so-called Quartieri Monumentali) are magnificently decorated by artists such as Michelangelo, Giorgio Vasari and Donatello. It is fascinating that Pier Soderini, who was named gonfaloniere for life, selected the two greatest Florentine artists of the time, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti, for the construction of two large murals to decorate the walls of the room, with battle scenes depicting victories of the Republic. Leonardo began to paint the Battle of Anghiari, while Michelangelo used another part of the wall for the Battle of Cascina. The two geniuses of the Renaissance would have had the opportunity to work for a certain period of time face to face, but none of their work had ever...

Located at P. della Signoria, 2, 50122 Florence FI, Italy 🇮🇹. Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo’s David statue and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. This building has been known as several different names ie Palazzo della Signoria and Palazzo dei Priori, it was depending on what the building was being used for at the time. The building acquired its current name when the Medici’s Dukes residence was moved to the Palazzo Pitti across the river. The cubical building is made of solid stonework with two rows of Gothic two-lighted windows. The building is crowned with projecting crenellated battlements , supported by small arches and corbells. Some of these arches can be as embrasures for dropping heated liquids or rocks on invaders. The building is enhanced by the simple tower with its clock. This tower contains two small cells that imprisoned several prisoners at different times. Although most of the Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum, it remains as the symbol and centre of local government. Since 1872, it has housed the office of the mayor of Florence and it’s the seat of City Council. The tower currently has three bells, the oldest of which was cast in the 13th century. Palazzo Vecchio is one of Florence‘s iconic landmark, it’s full of incredible history and also houses some incredible pieces of art and offers beautiful views from the tower. The walls of the cortile have various ancient maps of numerous important cities. This is really interesting to see. The ceiling decorations are so beautiful and unique, as is the sculptures and art. Make sure you book tickets in advance, they sell out fast and you can’t just turn up without a ticket, you won’t get in. Admission Tickets for museum - Adults 23.50€ Children (O-17 years) 1€ Audio Guide 8.00€ I strongly recommend the audio guide, it gave a lot of insight into the building and its history.I had a wonderful time and would suggest a visit to anyone interested. Thumbs...

Palazzo Vecchio (literally means Old Palace) is the symbol of the city of Florence, together with Santa Maria del Fiore and Michelangelo’s David, and has always been the seat of the city government.

Palazzo Vecchio was built at the turn of the 14th century as the Palazzo de Popolo or the "Palace of the People" and throughout history has been called in several ways: Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio. It received its present-day name when the duke’s residence moved to the Pitti Palace across the Arno River.

It was designed to accommodate the Priors and the Gonfaloniere of Justice (Gonfaloniere di Giustizia), the supreme governing body of Florence, later moved to the Palazzo del Bargello. It was built on the ruins of a palace that belonged to the Ghibelline Uberti family, expelled from the city in 1266 for its political position and remembered by Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy.

It's a huge fortress-like Romanesque palace with crenelated stone walls with Gothic windows that are adorned with the Florentine’s republic’s coats of arms, the façade is decorated with medallions and several sculptures can be seen around the building... this city hall is one of the most beautiful in all of Tuscany. The Palazzo Vecchio dominates Piazza della Signoria in the heart of the city, a square that is also home to a copy of the statue of David by Michelangelo and a gallery of sculptures. The square is nothing less than breathtaking and arguably one of the greatest in Italy.

The historical conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, who inflamed the Florentine politics at the time of Dante, is also present in some architectural elements of the building: the gallery has a square battlement defined as “Guelph”, while the tower has a dovetail battlement, called “Ghibelline”...

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