The Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio is located on the Piazza della Signoria. You can reach it from the square of the Duomo (cathedral) by walking down Via dei Calzaiuoli.
Address: Piazza della Signoria.
Opening hours:
April to September: every day, 9:00–23:00; Thursday, 9:00–14:00.
October to March: every day, 9:00–19:00; Thursday, 9:00–14:00. Closed on certain public holidays.
Admission: €18 (reservation recommended). Arnolfo Tower: €20 (reservation compulsory, closed in case of rain).
Built from 1299 to 1314 to the plans of Arnolfo di Cambio, it was first the residence of the Priors under the name Palazzo della Signoria, and was then named Palazzo Ducale under Cosimo I. When he occupied the Palazzo Pitti, it became the Palazzo Vecchio and today houses the City Council of Florence.
You enter it through a delightful cortile (inner courtyard) decorated by Vasari with views of the cities over which Austrian power extended, following the marriage of Francesco de' Medici to Joanna of Austria. The central fountain is adorned with the copy of a putto holding a dolphin, by Verrocchio.
You thus reach the Hall of the Five Hundred, whose ceiling and wall paintings, to the glory of the Medici, are also by Vasari. Among the sculptures arranged along the wall, note the Victorious Genius by Michelangelo, first intended for the tomb of Julius II in Rome.
The studiolo of Francesco I, which has no window, was intended to house the precious and rare objects of his private collection.
The first floor is occupied by offices and cannot be visited.
By the staircase you reach the second floor, which includes the rooms and belvederes of the Quarter of the Elements.
In the apartments of Eleonora of Toledo, the small chapel is sumptuously decorated by Bronzino. A suite of rooms, always decorated with frescoes and paintings, leads to the Hall of Audiences with its superb coffered ceiling.
The map room, with maps painted between 1563 and 1584, is a testimony to the geographical knowledge of the time.
