Overview
The Palazzo Vecchio Florence, originally known as the Palazzo Signoria (Palazzo, Italian for palace), named for where the city government (the Signoria) met. Not allowed to leave the building during their term, which was only two months, they lived in the palace. When the Austrian Empire decided to make a Medici the Duke of Florence, he moved into the palace, which became his residence until the family moved across the river Arno to the Palazzo Pitti.
Palazzo Vecchio Florence History
Originally known as the Palazzo della Signoria, construction began in 1299 as a stronghold for the government. The building looms over the Piazza della Signoria with imposing walls and a tower. The palace housed many important prisoners in its many decades as a government building. These include Cosimo the Elder, the founder of the Medici dynasty; Girolamo Savonarola before his execution; and the Pazzi conspirators, including an archbishop, Francesco Salviati. Many of the conspirators were hanged out of windows of the tower to die.
Besides holding important prisoners, the tower houses a bell known as la Vacca (the cow), used to summon citizens in times of crisis. With the end of the Republican government in May 1540, the name Palazzo Signoria also fell out of use. Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici moved his official residence from the Palazzo Medici to the renamed Palazzo Vecchio. Later, the ducal residence moved across the river Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. A raised covered walkway (the Vasari Corridor) protected the dukes and their officials.
Visiting the Palazzo Vecchio
Touring the interior of the Palazzo costs money; however, the first courtyard is open to the public. I didn’t tour the inside when I visited Florence. Details about the statues on the exterior statues are in my post about the Piazza Signoria here.
