I guess no other family is as fascinating as the Medici. Cleaver merchants as well as astute bankers the Medici became the Lords of Florence and further on Grand Dukes of Tuscany. The family soon revealed to be great patrons of both artists, philosophers, writers and scientists and accumulated an immense wealth.
On this tour we will have a quick glimpse of the first palace of the family, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi from the 1440-ies. We’ll also pass what the Medici considered to be their private church. San Lorenzo, one of the oldest churches of Florence, was renovated by Filippo Brunelleschi for the Medici in the early 15th century though without being completed due to the death of the architect. In the 16th century the Medici pope Leo X hired Michelangelo, but not even the genius managed to finish the project of a marble façade for the church.
Piazza Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio – the Political Heart of Florence
Piazza Signoria, the main point of the origin of the Florentine Republic and political focus of the city. As we head over to the main square Piazza della Signoria we will see how the statues were used as propaganda for the Medici. The mythological characters were displayed to feature the greatness of the family. In particular the Medici identified themselves in Hercules, but even Perseus and Neptune symbolized the dynasty.
We’ll visit the Medieval town hall, Palazzo Vecchio, which became the residence of the dynasty for a short while and from where the Medici ruled Florence and Tuscany. Today it’s partly a museum and our mayor is working here. You might find the building familiar as several scenes of the movie “Inferno” were filmed inside. I’ll take you to enormous hall, the Salone del 500, where Michelangelo’s sculpture Vittoria (Victory) is displayed together with other statues featuring the “Labours of Hercules” and the small study room called the Studiolo. We’ll visit the public and private areas of the building which were decorated in the 16th century for Cosimo I.
Here we’ll have a look at Dante’s face-mask and the incredible maps of the world which were carried out only 60 years after Columbus’ first trip to America. It was Cosimo I who decided to move to the Palazzo Vecchio with his big family. The Medieval building from 1299, which almost looks like a fortress, was and still is the political center of Florence. Thanks to Cosimo’s favorite architect, Giorgio Vasari, the Palazzo Vecchio was transformed into a modern and functional residence and everything reminding us of the former Republic was swept away. The idea was to give prestige to the second branch of the Medici to which Cosimo I belonged. Giorgio Vasari also laid out the famous corridor which goes from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace.
