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55-451: The bridge connects Via Por Santa Maria (Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli and Lungarno degli Archibusieri) to Via de' Guicciardini (Borgo San Jacopo and Via de' Bardi). The name was given to what was the oldest Florentine bridge when the Ponte alla Carraia was built, then called Ponte Nuovo in contrast to the old one. Beyond the historical value, the bridge over time has played a central role in

110-714: A bronze bust of Cellini to stand atop a fountain in the middle of the Eastern side of the bridge, where it stands to this day. During World War II , the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by the German army during their retreat at the advance of the British 8th Army on 4 August 1944, unlike all the other bridges in Florence. This was, according to many locals and tour guides, because of an express order by Hitler . Access to

165-449: A family of coypus live in a dam. The first mention of the bridge (then built in wood) dates from 1218. Destroyed by a flood in 1274, it was soon reconstructed, but fell down again in 1304 under the weight of a crowd who had met to watch a spectacle. It was the first bridge in the city rebuilt after the 1333 flood, perhaps under design of Giotto . Again damaged in 1557, it was remade by will of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici , who assigned

220-652: A large shield with the grand-ducal coat of arms. Michelangelo's David also stood at the entrance from its completion in 1504 to 1873, when it was moved to the accademia Gallery . A replica erected in 1910 now stands in its place, flanked by Baccio Bandinelli 's Hercules and Cacus . The statuary present at the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio is a testament to the fluctuating political atmosphere in Florence from 1504 to 1534, when Michelangelo's David and Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus were created, respectively. The statuary in front of this political building

275-510: A pupil of Vasari. On the walls are Florentine tapestries with hunting scenes, from cartoons by Stradanus. Beginning in 1540 when Cosimo moved the seat of government here, these rooms were refurbished and richly decorated to be the living quarters of Eleonora. This room served as Eleonora's bedchamber and was called the Green Room because of the color of the walls. The decorations on the ceiling are by Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio . A small door in

330-810: Is a five-arched bridge spanning the River Arno and linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city of Florence , Italy . To the west is a weir, the Pescaia di Santa Rosa, and the Ponte Amerigo Vespucci , and to the east is the Ponte Santa Trinita . The piazzas on either bank are the Piazza Nazario Sauro (south) and the Piazza Carlo Goldoni (north). At the northernmost column of the bridge

385-513: Is in effect to this day. The association of butchers had monopolized the shops on the bridge since 1442. The back shops ( retrobotteghe ) that may be seen from upriver were added in the seventeenth century. In 1900, to honour and mark the fourth century of the birth of the great Florentine sculptor and master goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini , the leading goldsmiths of the bridge commissioned the Florentine sculptor, Raffaello Romanelli , to create

440-516: Is named for the fresco on the ceiling. On the walls are Florentine tapestries made from cartoons by Stradanus (16th century). On the ceiling, the Triumph of Cybele and the Four Seasons . Against the walls are cabinets in tortoise shell and bronze. The floor was made in 1556. From the window one can see the third courtyard. The room gets its name from the motif on the ceiling, by Doceno ,

495-689: Is the town hall of Florence , Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria , which holds a copy of Michelangelo 's David statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi . Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria , after the Signoria of Florence , the ruling body of the Republic of Florence , this building was also known by several other names: Palazzo del Popolo , Palazzo dei Priori , and Palazzo Ducale , in accordance with

550-473: Is the largest hall in Italy by volume. However, Padova’s Palazzo della Ragione is 81,5 m long, 27 m wide and 24 m high. Even though Salone dei Cinquecento with its flat ceiling is close to parallelepiped and Palazzo della Ragione ’s hall with open roof is not, the latter's bounding box at 52 800 cubic m is 145% bigger than the 21 500 cubic m of Salone di Cinquecento (and likely to be larger even accounting for

605-888: The Palazzo Vecchio , the "Old Palace", although the adjacent town square, the Piazza della Signoria , still bears the original name. Cosimo commissioned Giorgio Vasari to build an above-ground walkway, the Vasari corridor , from the Palazzo Vecchio , through the Uffizi , over the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti. Cosimo I also moved the seat of government to the Uffizi. The palace gained new importance as

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660-506: The Battle of Cascina by Michelangelo , and the Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo da Vinci . Leonardo was commissioned in 1503 to paint one long wall with a battle scene celebrating a famous Florentine victory. He was always trying new methods and materials and decided to mix wax into his pigments. Da Vinci had finished painting part of the wall, but it was not drying fast enough, so he brought in braziers stoked with hot coals to try to hurry

715-529: The "Salone dei Cinquecento" . The Salone dei Cinquecento ('Hall of the Five Hundred') is the most imposing chamber, with a length of 52 m (170 ft) width of 23 m (75 ft), and height of 18 m (59 ft). Another source: https://www.persee.fr/doc/mefr_1123-9891_2003_num_115_1_9979 page 54 footnote 6 specifies the measurements as width 22,15 m, length 51,61 m along east wall but 53,47 m along west wall The Salone dei Cinquecento

770-641: The Bargello (a sort of a lord mayor, a magistrate and a police authority). In order to connect the Palazzo Vecchio (Florence's town hall) with the Palazzo Pitti , in 1565 Cosimo I de' Medici had Giorgio Vasari build the Vasari Corridor , part of which runs above the Ponte Vecchio. To enhance the prestige and clean up the bridge, a decree was made in 1565 that excluded butchers from this bridge (only goldsmiths and jewellers are allowed) that

825-535: The Sistine Chapel , and the master's sketches were destroyed by eager young artists who came to study them and took away scraps. The surviving decorations in this hall were made between 1555 and 1572 by Giorgio Vasari and his helpers, among them Livio Agresti from Forlì . They mark the culmination of mannerism and make this hall the showpiece of the palace. It has been stated that the Salone dei Cinquecento

880-605: The priori (priors) representing the guilds of Florence . The Audience Chamber or Hall of Justice used to house the meetings of the priors. It contains the oldest decorations in the palace. The carved coffer ceiling, laminated with pure gold, is by Giuliano da Maiano (1470–1476). On the portal to the Chapel of the Signoria is an inscription in honor of Christ (1529). The doorway to the Hall of Lilies has marble mouldings sculpted by

935-760: The Florentine Nicolò Bernardo , but was replaced in 1667 with a replica made by Georg Lederle from the German town of Augsburg (Italians refer to him as Giorgio Lederle of Augusta) and installed by Vincenzo Viviani . Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (later to become grand duke) moved his official seat from the Medici palazzo in via Larga to the Palazzo della Signoria in May 1540, signalling the security of Medici power in Florence. When Cosimo later removed to Palazzo Pitti , he officially renamed his former palace

990-420: The Ponte Vecchio claimed its title as the oldest bridge in Florence. Giorgio Vasari recorded the traditional view of his day that attributed its design to Taddeo Gaddi — besides Giotto one of the few artistic names of the trecento still recalled two hundred years later. Modern historians present Neri di Fioravanti as a possible candidate as the builder. Sheltered in a little loggia at the central opening of

1045-450: The Ponte Vecchio was, however, obstructed by the destruction of the buildings at both ends of the bridge, which have since been rebuilt using a combination of original and modern designs. The bridge was severely damaged in the 1966 flood of the Arno . Between 2005 and 2006, 5,500 padlocks, known as love locks , which were attached to the railings around the bust of Cellini, were removed by

1100-591: The Room of Ceres) and two loggias . The commission for these rooms was originally given by Cosimo I to Giovanni Battista del Tasso . But on his death, the decorations were continued by Vasari and his helpers, working for the first time for the Medicis. These rooms were the private quarters of Cosimo I. The walls in the Room of the Elements are filled with allegorical frescoes Allegories of Water, Fire and Earth and, on

1155-522: The School of Vasari and represent the four elements : fire, water, earth, and air. The portrait of Cosimo I and his wife Eleonora of Toledo was painted by Bronzino . The delicate bronze sculptures were made by Giambologna and Bartolomeo Ammanati . From a peep-hole, Francesco spied on his ministers and officers during meetings in the Salone dei Cinquecento. Dismantled within decades of its construction, it

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1210-499: The arches are a repeated series of nine painted coats of arms of the Florentine republic. Some of these arches can be used as embrasures ( spiombati ) for dropping heated liquids or rocks on invaders. The solid, massive building is enhanced by the simple tower with its clock. Giovanni Villani wrote that Arnolfo di Cambio incorporated the ancient tower of the Foraboschi family (the tower then known as "La Vacca" or "The Cow") into

1265-583: The architect of the Duomo and the Santa Croce church, began construction upon the ruins of Palazzo dei Fanti and Palazzo dell'Esecutore di Giustizia , once owned by the Uberti family. Giovanni Villani (1276–1348) wrote in his Nuova Cronica that the Uberti were "rebels of Florence and Ghibellines ", stating that the palazzo was built to ensure that the Uberti family homes would never be rebuilt on

1320-626: The area of Palazzo Pitti and Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno . The bridge appears in the list drawn up in 1901 by the General Directorate of Antiquities and Fine Arts, as a monumental building to be considered national artistic heritage. The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, when the via Cassia crossed the river at this point. The Roman piers were of stone,

1375-403: The bridge is a weathered dedication stone, which once read Nel trentatrè dopo il mille-trecento, il ponte cadde, per diluvio dell' acque: poi dieci anni, come al Comun piacque, rifatto fu con questo adornamento . The Torre dei Mannelli was built at the southeast corner of the bridge to defend it. The bridge consists of three segmental arches: the main arch has a span of 30 meters (98 feet), and

1430-585: The bridge that Leon Battista Alberti described as a prominent ornament in the city. A stone with an inscription from Dante ( Paradiso xvi. 140-7) records the spot at the entrance to the bridge where Buondelmonte de' Buondelmonti was murdered by the Amidei clan in 1215, which began the urban fighting of the Guelfs and Ghibellines . The bridge has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization by

1485-596: The brothers Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano . The inlaid woodwork ( intarsia ) on the doors was carved by Del Francione and depicts portraits of Dante and Petrarch . The large frescoes on the walls portraying the Stories of Furius Camillus by Francesco Salviati were made in the middle of the 16th century. Since Salviati had his schooling in the circle around Raphael in Rome, these frescoes are based on Roman models and not typical of Florentine art. Marcus Furius Camillus

1540-555: The ceiling Penelope at the loom , in the frieze, episodes from the Odyssey . On the walls: Madonna and Child and a Madonna and Child with St. John by Botticelli . This room is dedicated to Virtue as personified by Gualdrada . The ceiling painting of Gualdrada is by the Flemish painter Stradanus , better known under his Italian name Stradanus. Against the wall is a cabinet with Florentine mosaic designs. These rooms were used by

1595-638: The ceiling, represents Saturn . The original statue "Boy with a Fish" by Verrocchio is on exhibit in one of the smaller rooms (the copy stands on the fountain in the first courtyard). Named for the fresco on the ceiling. Has a fabulous view of Florence. There is a southeastern view to Piazzale Michelangelo and the Fortress Belvedere . Also visible are the remains of the Church of San Piero Scheraggio . This room (the Sala di Ercole) gets its name from

1650-525: The city council. According to the council, the padlocks were aesthetically displeasing and damaged the bust and its railings. There is now a fine for attaching love locks to the bridge. An announcement in April 2024 stated that work would be completed on the bridge, including a cleaning, an upgrade of the replacement joints previously installed, strengthening of the stone and restoration of the footpath's stone. Ponte alla Carraia The Ponte alla Carraia

1705-588: The city road system, starting from when it connected the Roman Florentia with the Via Cassia Nova commissioned by the emperor Hadrian in 123 AD. In contemporary times, despite being closed to vehicular traffic, the bridge is crossed by a considerable pedestrian flow generated both by its fame and by the fact that it connects places of high tourist interest on the two banks of the river: Piazza del Duomo , Piazza della Signoria on one side with

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1760-529: The eldest son of Cosimo I de' Medici , to Archduchess Johanna of Austria , sister of the Emperor Maximilian II . Amongst the cities depicted are Graz , Innsbruck , Linz , Vienna , Bratislava (Pozsony), Prague , Hall in Tirol , Freiburg im Breisgau and Konstanz . Some were damaged over the course of time. The harmoniously proportioned columns, at one time smooth, and untouched, were at

1815-622: The garden of the Villa Medici at Careggi . The water, flowing through the nose of the dolphin, is brought here by pipes from the Boboli Gardens . In the niche , in front of the fountain, stands Samson and Philistine by Pierino da Vinci . The frescoes on the walls are vedute of the cities of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy , painted in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari for the wedding celebration of Francesco I de' Medici ,

1870-464: The new tower's facade as its substructure; this is why the rectangular tower (height 94 m) is not directly centered in the building. This tower contains two small cells, that, at different times, imprisoned Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder) (1435) and Girolamo Savonarola (1498). The tower is named after its designer Torre d'Arnolfo . The tower's large, one-handed clock was originally constructed in 1353 by

1925-420: The next. The first courtyard was designed in 1453 by Michelozzo. In the lunettes , high around the courtyard, are crests of the church and city guilds. In the center, the porphyry fountain is by Battista del Tadda . The Putto with Dolphin on top of the basin is a copy of the original by Andrea del Verrocchio (1476), now on display on the second floor of the palace. This small statue was originally placed in

1980-447: The niches are sculptures by Bandinelli: in the center the statue of the seated "Leo X" (sculpted assisted by his student Vincenzo de' Rossi ), and on the right a statue of "Charles V crowned by Clement VII". The six statues along the walls that represent the "Labors of Hercules" are by de' Rossi. In the central niche at the south of the Hall is Michelangelo's noted marble group The Genius of Victory (1533–1534), originally intended for

2035-465: The north side of the hall, illuminated by enormous windows, is the raised stage called the Udienza , built by Bartolommeo Bandinelli for Cosimo I as a place to receive citizens and ambassadors. Above are frescoes of historical events; among these, that of Boniface VIII receiving the ambassadors of foreign States and, seeing that were all Florentines, saying: "You Florentines are the quintessence." In

2090-617: The oldest was cast in the 13th century. Above the front entrance door, there is a notable ornamental marble frontispiece , dating from 1528. In the middle, flanked by two gilded lions, is the Monogram of Christ , surrounded by a glory, above the text ( in Latin ): "Rex Regum et Dominus Dominantium" (translation: "King of Kings and Lord of Lords". This text dates from 1851 and does not replace an earlier text by Savonarola as mentioned in guidebooks. Between 1529 and 1851 they were concealed behind

2145-501: The process. A legend exists that Giorgio Vasari, wanting to preserve Da Vinci's work, had a false wall built over the top of The Battle of Anghiari before painting his fresco. Attempts to find Da Vinci's original work behind the Vasari fresco have so far been inconclusive. Michelangelo never proceeded beyond the preparatory drawings for the fresco he was commissioned to paint on the opposite wall. Pope Julius II called him to Rome to paint

2200-484: The project to Bartolomeo Ammannati . Enlarged during the 19th century, the bridge was blown up by the retreating German Army during World War II (1944). The current structure is a design by Ettore Fagiuoli, completed in 1948. 43°46′12.87″N 11°14′50.09″E  /  43.7702417°N 11.2472472°E  / 43.7702417; 11.2472472 Palazzo Vecchio The Palazzo Vecchio ( Italian pronunciation: [paˈlattso ˈvɛkkjo] "Old Palace")

2255-446: The roof). On the walls are large and expansive frescoes that depict battles and military victories by Florence over Pisa and Siena : The ceiling consists of 39 panels constructed and painted by Vasari and his assistants, representing Great Episodes from the life of Cosimo I , the quarters of the city, and the city itself. Toward the center is the apotheosis : Scene of His Glorification as Grand Duke of Florence and Tuscany . On

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2310-605: The room indicates the beginning of the Vasari corridor , a passageway to the Palazzo Pitti built by Vasari for Cosimo I. The small, richly decorated chapel adjoining the Sala Verde is painted in fresco by the mannerist Angelo Bronzino and includes some of his masterpieces including the Crossing the Red Sea . It was built by Tasso to be Eleonora's private chapel. It was named because of the ceiling decoration. At one time it

2365-496: The same location. The cubical building is made of solid rusticated stonework, with two rows of two-lighted Gothic windows, each with a trefoil arch. In the 15th century, Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi added decorative bas-reliefs of the cross and the Florentine lily in the spandrels between the trefoils. The building is crowned with projecting crenellated battlements , supported by small arches and corbels . Under

2420-446: The same time richly decorated with gilt stuccoes. The barrel vaults are furnished with grotesque decorations. The second courtyard, also called "The Customs", contains the massive pillars built in 1494 by Cronaca that sustains the great "Salone dei Cinquecento" on the second floor. The third courtyard was used mainly for offices of the city. Between the first and second courtyard the massive and monumental stairs by Vasari lead up to

2475-523: The seat of united Italy's provisional government from 1865 to 1871, at a moment when Florence had become the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Although most of the Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum , it remains as the symbol and center of local government; since 1872 it has housed the office of the mayor of Florence, and it is the seat of the City Council. The tower currently has three bells;

2530-469: The subject of the paintings on the ceiling. Also the tapestries show stories of Hercules . The room contains a Madonna and Child and an ebony cabinet called a stipo inlaid with semi-precious stones. Cosimo the Elder kept a menagerie of lions in a dedicated lion house in the palazzo. He often fought them or baited them against other animals in large festivals for visiting Popes or dignitaries. The room

2585-490: The superstructure of wood. The bridge first appears in a document of 996 and was destroyed by a flood in 1117 and reconstructed in stone. In 1218 the Ponte alla Carraia, a wooden structure, was established nearby which led to it being referred to as "Ponte Nuovo" relative to the older (Vecchio) structure. It was swept away again in 1333 except for two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica . It

2640-483: The tomb of Julius II . The statue was placed in this hall by Vasari. In 1868 it was removed to the Bargello Museum , but was returned in 1921 by officials. At the end of the hall is a small side room without windows. The studiolo was a small secret study designed by Vasari in a manneristic style (1570–1575). The walls and the barrel vault are filled with paintings, stucco and sculptures. Most paintings are by

2695-404: The two side arches each span 27 meters (89 feet). The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 metres (11½ to 14½ feet), and the span-to-rise ratio is 5:1. The shallow segmental arches, which require fewer piers than the semicircular arch traditionally used by Romans, enabled ease of access and navigation for animal-drawn carts. Another notable design element is the large piazza at the center of

2750-487: The varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno River to the Palazzo Pitti . In 1299, the commune and people of Florence decided to build a palace that would be worthy of the city's importance, and that would be more secure and defensible in times of turbulence for the magistrates of the commune. Arnolfo di Cambio ,

2805-564: Was built in 1494 by Simone del Pollaiolo , on commission of Savonarola who, replacing the Medici after their exile as the spiritual leader of the Republic, wanted it as a seat of the Grand Council ( Consiglio Maggiore ) consisting of 500 members. Later, the hall was enlarged by Giorgio Vasari so that Grand Duke Cosimo I could hold his court in this chamber. During this transformation, famous (but unfinished) works were lost, including

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2860-528: Was commissioned under two different rulers in Florence, David under Piero Soderini and Hercules and Cacus under the Medici . These statues, thus engage in a fierce dialogue with each other as well as the Florentine public about the socio-political state of Florence under each of the rulers. The statues at the entrance were installed next to each other to perpetuate different political agendas depending on their patron and demonstrate superiority from one regime to

2915-767: Was re-assembled in the 20th century. The other rooms on the first floor are the Quartieri monumentali . These rooms, the Residence of the Priors and the Quarters of Leo X, are used by the mayor as offices and reception rooms. They are not accessible to the public. A staircase designed by Vasari leads to the second floor. This floor contains the Apartments of the Elements, Priori, and Eleonora of Toledo. These apartments ( Sala degli Elementi ) consist of five rooms (such as

2970-498: Was rebuilt in 1345. This location marks one of the earliest crossings of the Arno in Florence, possibly originating from Roman times or even before. Although floods have repeatedly damaged it, the current bridge has stood since approximately 1339-1345. For many years, the only older bridge in the city was the Rubaconte bridge, built nearly a century earlier. But after significant 19th-century modifications and its destruction in 1944,

3025-547: Was used for the Ladies-in-waiting at the court of Eleonora di Toledo . It contains Portraits of Medici Princes by Sustermans , statues by a Florentine art school and a tapestry by Fevère . On the ceiling is the Coronation of Esther decorated by Stradanus , with an inscription in honor of Eleonora di Toledo . The room contains a lavabo and two tapestries by Van Assel representing Spring and Autumn . On

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