Florence - Palazzo Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio

In many of the buildings and churches in Florence, you can see paintings and frescoes depicting Florence "at the time." Here in the Palazzo Vecchio are two of them: the first showing the Baptistery and the façade of the Duomo. This was done before the marble façade was added to the Duomo ... it's just a stone and brick in the picture.

In many of the buildings and churches in Florence, you can see paintings and frescoes depicting Florence "at the time." Here in the Palazzo Vecchio are two of them: the second the Piazza della Signoria. This was before the Uffizi was built. You can see over the Loggia to the hills containing the Arno River beyond. For me it's really neat to go inside the building, see it the way it was then, go outside, and see it as it is now. This is a real and personal connection to history for me.

Palazzo Vecchio Art

Palazzo Vecchio Art

The crest deserves special mention from my perspective. It is a highly stylized Medici crest. Notice the angels holding six balls. Those six balls were the Medici Brand, or logo if you will, and boy did they believe in the power of branding. Every building they built, ... every fountain, every sculpture, every scientific instrument they may have sponsored ... will have a Medici crest prominently included.

Palazzo Vecchio Art

We need to remember, the Palazzo was once a residence. And according to the tastes of the owners, essentially every flat surface was decorated. Walls, certainly, floors with intricate tiles, ceilings with carved and guilt-covered wood, and so on. Many of the surfaces unsuitable to something grander were covered with "grotesques," like this one. I really enjoyed these. According to Richard Dawkins in his book The God Delusion, much of the energy of organized religions is directed toward scaring the hell out of children of the faithful in order to brainwash them into continuing their parents religious traditions. We'll see other examples of this in these pages, but these grotesques certainly contribute evidence supporting the notion. Imagine being 4 years old and falling asleep with these little paintings on your ceiling!

We need to remember, the Palazzo was once a residence. And according to the tastes of the owners, essentially every flat surface was decorated. Walls, certainly, floors with intricate tiles, ceilings with carved and guilt-covered wood, and so on. Many of the surfaces unsuitable to something grander were covered with "grotesques," like this one. I really enjoyed these.

I mentioned you could take the "back stage" tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. If you do, you'll see the Treasure Room pictured above. Standing inside you'll feel as though you are inside a treasure chest. Many of the panels are hidden doors concealing spaces where treasure could be hidden. Other panels, and this is the cool part, conceal hidden passageways to other parts of the Palazzo. If you're travelling to Florence with children, or if you're a kid at heart, you'll love this!

I mentioned you could take the "back stage" tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. If you do, you'll see the Treasure Room pictured above. Standing inside you'll feel as though you are inside a treasure chest. Many of the panels are hidden doors concealing spaces where treasure could be hidden. Other panels, and this is the cool part, conceal hidden passageways to other parts of the Palazzo. If you're travelling to Florence with children, or if you're a kid at heart, you'll love this!

I mentioned you could take the "back stage" tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. If you do, you'll see the Treasure Room pictured above. Standing inside you'll feel as though you are inside a treasure chest. Many of the panels are hidden doors concealing spaces where treasure could be hidden. Other panels, and this is the cool part, conceal hidden passageways to other parts of the Palazzo. If you're travelling to Florence with children, or if you're a kid at heart, you'll love this!

I mentioned you could take the "back stage" tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. If you do, you'll see the Treasure Room pictured above. Standing inside you'll feel as though you are inside a treasure chest. Many of the panels are hidden doors concealing spaces where treasure could be hidden. Other panels, and this is the cool part, conceal hidden passageways to other parts of the Palazzo. If you're travelling to Florence with children, or if you're a kid at heart, you'll love this!

Crest