The Medici's Florence: Palaces and Power

The tower of the Palazzo della Signoria contains two small cells, and in 1435 one of them held Cosimo de' Medici, the Elder. A century later, in May 1540, his namesake Cosimo I moved his official seat here from the family palazzo in via Larga, a sign that Medici power was secure. When Cosimo later moved to the Pitti Palace, he renamed his former seat the Palazzo Vecchio, the "Old Palace". Since 1872 it has housed the mayor's office, and most of it is a museum.

Para el visitante: The palace is a museum; the mayor's office is still inside.

Cosimo cleared the site and built a palace that looked modest outside and was richly decorated within. His family had moved in by 1458; he did not enjoy it long, dying in 1464. It remained the family's main home until Piero de Medici's exile in 1494, and in 1659 it was sold to the Riccardi family, who gave it its second name. Since 1874 it has been the seat of the provincial government.

Para el visitante: Now a museum as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence.

On Sunday 26 April 1478, during High Mass at the Duomo, conspirators struck at both Medici brothers at once. Giuliano was killed by Bernardo Bandini dei Baroncelli and Francesco de' Pazzi; Lorenzo escaped to the sacristy, and from there to his home. A total of eighty people were executed by October. The same cathedral shows the Medici's earlier patronage: Cosimo supported Brunelleschi in the dome competition.

Para el visitante: The cathedral stands on Piazza del Duomo.

The Medici planned the New Sacristy at San Lorenzo as a mausoleum for their family. It was Michelangelo's first architecture (1519-1524), and he also designed the tombs inside. But the temporary exile of the Medici in 1527 and his permanent departure for Rome in 1534 meant he never finished it. In 1976 a concealed corridor with drawings by Michelangelo on its walls was discovered underneath the sacristy.

Para el visitante: The chapels are a museum beside the church of San Lorenzo.

In 1549 the palace was sold to Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I. Cosimo had Vasari enlarge it, more than doubling its size with a new block at the rear, and land on the Boboli hill behind was acquired for a large formal park, today the Boboli Gardens. At first it only lodged guests and hosted functions; the Medici's principal residence remained the Palazzo Vecchio. Today the Pitti is a museum owned by the Italian state.

Para el visitante: The palace is a museum and the Boboli Gardens lie behind it.

Cosimo I had Giorgio Vasari begin the Uffizi in 1560, not as a gallery but as offices: hence the name, uffizi, "offices". The aim was to bring the committees, agencies and guilds of Florence's republican past under his control in one place. It was completed in 1581, and his son Francesco I commissioned Buontalenti to design the octagonal Tribuna, finished in 1584. The top floor held the family's collection; the Uffizi is an art museum today beside the Piazza della Signoria.

Para el visitante: An art museum beside the Piazza della Signoria.

In 1564 Cosimo I commissioned Vasari to build a raised passage so the Grand Duke could move freely between his residence and the government palace. The work was to take five months. It runs through the Uffizi and above the Ponte Vecchio, where the meat market was moved so its smell would not reach the passage; goldsmith shops, established by 1593, took its place and still occupy the bridge. A balcony let the ducal family follow services in Santa Felicita without mixing with the populace.

Para el visitante: The corridor can be visited Tuesday to Sunday with an extra charge on top of an Uffizi ticket.