 | Florence Palazzo Vecchio Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 67 |  |
Abstracting the scaffolding.... It is a impressive and interesting building and is the main complex in Piazza della Signoria.
Do you remember the story about the Guelphs and the establishmet of nothing being built on the ground where the Ghibelline properties once exist? For this reason, the Palazzo Vecchio, which faces onto the piazza, is irregularly-shaped and both the main entrance and the tower are somewhat eccentric.
The Palazzo Vecchio was so called to distinguish it from the "new" palace, the Palazzo Pitti, to which the Medici family moved in the sixteenth century.
Today the Palazzo Vecchio is the seat of the municipal government and is only partially open to the public.
As we are going to see in some of the pics to come, Palazzo Vecchio is connected with the Pitti Palace through the Vasari corridor which runs through the Uffizi and over Ponte Vecchio to the other side of the river Arno. The corridor was constructed by Vasari after the Medici family moved into the Pitti Palace. Leave a Comment |
 | |  |
Formally known as Palazzo Pubblico, Palazzo della Signoria, etc, the Palazzo Vecchio with a high tower of 94 meters has a simple front facing the Piazza della Signoria. However the courtyard and the interior are both absolutely beautiful. Inside you find an art collection with work from several European drawers from the 15th to the 18th century. And the beautiful Piazza della Signoria wouldn’t be the most important place in Florence without the presence of this great Palazzo in the middle. Leave a Comment Address: Piazza della SignoriaDirections: Right in the centre of Florence |
Palazzo Vecchio, as it appears today, is the result of at least three successive building stages between the 13th-16th centuries: the last reconstruction was carried out by Vasari, after the coming to power of Cosimo I de' Medici, who moved into the palace with all his family.
Palazzo Vecchio's exclusive role as the political representative of the city gradually lost importance from 1565 for three centuries, being partly replaced by the Uffizi and the new Palace at Pitti. It was to return to its original function as the seat of the City Council in 1872.
Although the palace today contains the offices of the City Council, much of it can still be visited: Hall of the Five Hundred, the little Study of Francesco I and the four monumental apartments: the Quarters of the Elements, the Quarters of Eleonora of Toledo, the Residence of the Priors and the Quarters of Leo X, where the reception rooms of the mayor and the council that governs the city are situated today. The Hall of the Two Hundred is once more being used for the meetings of the City Council and therefore not always open to the public.
The grand staircase by Vasari leads to the Salone dei Cinquecento which contains, among other sculptures, the marble Victory by Michelangelo. Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were originally commissioned to provide fresco decorations for the Salone. On the same floor of the Palazzo is the Studiolo of Francesco I Medici by Vasari, which contains works by Giambologna, Ammannati and other Florentine artists of the late sixteenth century. On the second floor are to be found the Sala dei Gigli, which takes its name from the lilies, symbol of Florence, which decorate its walls and ceiling; the Sala dell'Udienza, built by Benedetto da Maiano; the Cappella della Signoria, with frescoes by Ghirlandaio; the Quartiere di Eleonora di Toledo, built by Vasari; and the Cappella di Eleonora, decorated by Bronzino. Leave a Comment Address: P.zza della SignoriaPhone: Tel.39 55 2768325Directions: open to visitors Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Thursday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The museum is closed on certain holidays. |
| | |
The Palazzo Vecchio is the seat of the municipal government and is therefore only partially open to the public.
The Piazza Della Signoria is in front of this impressive building. It looks like an outdoor sculpture garden. The Fountain of Neptune is here as well as other sculptures including a replica of David. Leave a Comment |
The first time we were in Florence we missed this palace but with our second trip we decided we had to see it and it is really worth visiting.
The palace was completed in 1322 as the cities town hall. In that year a bell was put in the belltower and it was used to call the citizens to meetings but also to warn them of attack, flooding or fire. The interior of the palace was redesigned by Duke Cosimo I - he moved into the palace in 1540. Vasari redecorated the interior of the palace, after Michelangelo and Leonardo had been asked to do it. In the Salone dei Cinquecento is Michelangelo's statue "Victory" which is beautiful. I also loved the Capella di Eleanora which was painted by Bronzino. Leave a Comment Address: Piazzo della SignoraDirections: you really cannot miss it, when we were there the David (the copy) was in scaffolding and the facade of the palace was being cleaned. |
Completed in 1322 and was Florence's historic town hall. It contained a bell that used to call citizens to a "meeting" or served as a warning. The interior was changed when it was occupied by Duke Cosimo I in 1540. It is said that Michelangelo and Leonardo were asked to help redecorate but the artist Vasari was the one to take up the job. You can also see heraldic shields along the crenelated top. Michelangelo's "David" once stood at the entrance and now a replica is in its place. The Loggia dei Lanzi also houses a few interesting statues of artistic and political value. Leave a Comment Address: Piazza della Signoria |
This is the most important civil building in the city of Florence.
We had two guided tours in Palazzo Vecchio, both of them I would say very interesting.
One it was general and covered general stories about the Palazzo, Florence history and art.
The other one was called Percorsi Segreti and covered places within the Palazzo that until today were inaccessible. Plenty of good fun stories about Cosimo I de' Medici, his son, his wife, stories about Florence, Siena, Pisa. Leave a Comment |
Palazzo dei Priori is also known as Palazzo Vecchio or Palazzo della Signoria is a parallelipiped-shaped palace, with the top end looking like the crenellated top of a defense tower or wall, and the very nice 94 meters high bell tower. Currently the Palazzo Vecchio is first a great museum but also it still houses (since 1872) the office of the mayor and is the seat of the City Council. The building history of the most important building in Florence takes place during three centuries (13th-16th), starting with the end of the 12th century when Florence decided to build a palace and comissioned Arnolfo di Cambrio to do so. The present palace resulted from three succesive building stages as various architects modifying the exterior and also the interior.
Inside the palace presents itself first with the three courtyards, first one my favourite (check out my second picture), designed in 1453 by Michelozzo. Paying the entrance ticket the visitor will discover a series of rooms, offices and hallways, with impressive painted ceilings and wall frescos. Leave a Comment |
| | |
this famous landmark was the political center of the florentines. built in 1322 it is florence's town hall and once home to cosimo I. cosimo remodelled the interior of the palazzo in 1540. some works of art in the palazzo are the "sala dei gigli", verrochio's "putto with dolphin", bronzino's "cappella di eleonora", and michelangelo's "victory". for more information check out my florence page. open daily. Address: piazza della signoriaPhone: 055 276 84 65Directions: cental florence, bus: a,b. |
My favorite attraction in Florence. I love taking my time and strolling through the majestic rooms filled with beauty and art. I love the views of the Duomo and rest of Florence from some of the rooms. Look up as much as possible, the ceilings in this building are incredible. Not to be missed Leave a Comment Address: Center of FlorenceDirections: Piazza della Signora |
|
 |
 |
Search Hotels
Find the best room rates |
|
 |
|
Florence
on May 29, 2004
on July 13, 2004
on March 20, 2005
on February 16, 2004
on December 14, 2003
on February 22, 2004
on August 3, 2005
on August 22, 2006
on July 29, 2006
on January 24, 2004
