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PALAZZO VECCHIO
Courtyard
Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of Five Hundred)
Apartments of Pope Leone X
Apartments of the Elements
Apartments of Eleonora of Toledo
Chapel of the Priors
Hall of the Audience
Hall of the Lilies
The Chancellery
Hall of the Geographical Maps

WALKING IN PALAZZO VECCHIO

One of the symbols of Florence, Palazzo Vecchio o Palazzo della Signoria was projected by Arnolfo di Cambio around 1299 as residence of the Priori delle Arti, the palace was completed in 1314. The tower of Palazzo Vecchio, 94 metres high, and called Tower of Arnolfo, was built in 1310, along with the Palazzo itself. It is probably supported by an even more antique tower called torre de’ Foraboschi. The tower was finished in the 1453 with the erection of a cuspid, a bronze sphere and the Marzocco (the lion symbol of Florence).

Palazzo Vecchio was the residence of the Signoria during 15th century and later was restructurated by Vasari when, in 1540, Cosimo I de' Medici moved into the palace with his family. In 1865, when Florence was the capital of the kingdom of Italy it became the seat of United Italy's government from 1865-71, and housed the Chamber of Deputies (the Senate sat next door in the Uffizi). It was to return to its original function as the seat of the City Council in 1872.

Detail of the windows and the Coat of Arms of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Arnolfo Tower, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

The entrance of Palazzo Vecchio. Are visible the statues of Ercole e Caco (1534) works of Bandinelli, the Davide di Michelangelo (copy), the fountain of Nettuno or Biancone by Ammannati. Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Although the palace today contains the offices of the City Council, much of it can still be visited. Beautiful it is the decorated courtyard of access to the palace. Between the rooms to not be missed are the Salone dei Cinquecento, the Studiolo di Francesco I and the four monumental appartments: the Quartiere degli Elementi, the Quartiere di Eleonora, the Residenza dei Priori and the Quartiere di Leone X. The Salone dei Duecento is being used for the meetings of the City Council and therefore not always open to the public. Inside the Palace are frescoes carry out by artists as the Ghirlandaio, Francesco Salviati, the Bronzino, Vasari. There are also masterpiece of sculpture's renaissance as the Genio della Vittoria by Michelangelo and the Donatello's bronze of Giuditta e Oloferne. Next to Palazzo Vecchio is the beautiful Loggia dei Lanzi with several beautiful sculptures the most famous is the Perseo of Benvenuto Cellini.

This is the timetable for the visit to the monumental quarters of Palazzo Vecchio: Week: 9-19; Thursday: 9-14; Festive: 9-19 Tickets: entire € 6,00; rid. young person-old € 4,50 rid.; minor-schools € 2,00; families (4 persons) € 14,00; families (5 persons) € 16,00

Palazzo Vecchio with on the background the Appennino mountains

A copy of the David of Michelangelo is situated on the left side of the entrance of Palazzo Vecchio, this is the place where the original David was in the past, now is in the Museo dell'Accademia (it was trasferred in 1873)

Copy of the Giuditta and Oloferne (1455-60) by Donatello. The original statue is found in the Sala dei Gigli of Palazzo Vecchio

Lateral side of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. On the left is the building of Salone dei Cinquecento

Two lions over the main entrance of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Palazzo Vecchio seen from Piazzale degli Uffizi, Florence

The visit of Palazzo Vecchio starts from the Cortile.

WALKING IN PALAZZO VECCHIO: INDEX
Palazzo Vecchio	Palazzo Vecchio: the Courtyard	Palazzo Vecchio: Salone dei Cinquecento	Palazzo Vecchio: Quartiere of Pope Leone X		Palazzo Vecchio: Apartments of the Elements

Palazzo Vecchio: Eleonora of Toledo's Apartments	Palazzo Vecchio: Cappella dei Priori	Palazzo Vecchio: Sala dell'Udienza	Palazzo Vecchio: Sala dei Gigli (Hall of the Lilies)	Palazzo Vecchio: Cancelleria	Palazzo Vecchio: Hall of Geographical Maps

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