Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio is the center of the secular power in Florence in the 14th century dar. It was originally called the Palazzo della Signoria ( Signoria was the government of the Republic), to the administration of Duke Cosimo I moved out of the house Medici in the Uffizi Gallery.

Architectural History

With the construction of the majestic building was started in 1299, six years after the guilds had taken power. The building housed from its completion in 1314 the Parliament of the Republic of Florence and served as a dormitory for the deputies. This also explains the defensive character of architecture, nachkam the desire of those gathered for safety. Even today, the old structure can be seen. In hardly durchfensterten ground floor the 300 members of the City Council, met. On the 1st floor gathered the " Council of One Hundred " and on the 2nd floor were residential and commercial spaces.

The tower impressed with its distinctive shape, the silhouette of the city decisively. It has a height of 94 meters and is named in honor of the builder " Arnolfo Tower " - initially under the name " Torre Faraboschi " ( Toman, p 31). The tower is connected with its Piazza della Signoria facing side over about one meter, as it is directly on the projecting battlements basement of the Palazzo. Its solid core though (hence the blank window below the tower ) runs through the building front in full. This typical form of a Tuscan municipal palace goes back to the basic shape of the towers back, the casa- torre, tower houses ( Duby, p 463: "The citizens palaces of the Tuscan cities [ ... ] were basically nothing more than Roman houses with courtyards, which had turned into fortresses and pursued with its towers to dizzying heights. ").

Model for this Florentine palace official is the Palazzo dei Priori Volterra, which was started already in 1208, and the Pal. Torre del Imperatore in Prato, which was built in 1238-1249. From this Pal. Vecchio derives the basic shape of the later urban palaces forth like that of the Pal. Medici. The monumental character of this building, which as closed to the outside acting facades and some architectural details such as especially the basement division by narrow Gesimsstreifen return in the noble palace again ( carpenter, p 58). This gigantic city of Bastion does not look vaguely like a fortification. It served not least the protection of the councilors of attack from troubled families or clans of the applied people.

Duke Cosimo I made ​​1540/41 the Palazzo Vecchio to his government palace. He had extensive rebuild and renew. Among other things, the Salone dei Cinquecento ( Hall of the " Council of 500 " ) was developed into a hall of audience and numerous apartments built or remodeled. The performing artists were initially Baccio Bandinelli and Giovanni dell'Opera, later Giorgio Vasari, with Livio Agresti, and Giovanni Stradano.

Hall of the Five Hundred

The huge hall of the Five Hundred with a size of 54 x 22 meters was created by Savonarola. After the second expulsion of the Medici this Dominican monk reformed the Republic by he called a great council of five hundred members into life by the Venetian model. The required Hall was built in 1495 by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder.

Shortly thereafter, there has been in this room a unique event for art history, an artistic competition between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Both received the contract in 1503 to paint the hall with two large murals that should have been the subject of so-called " Battle of Anghiari " (Leonardo ) or the " Battle of Cascina " (Michelangelo). This unique contest between the leading artists of the Renaissance was granted an inglorious end, because Leonardo left his work unfinished back as he left much unfinished, and Michelangelo came - probably because of Leonardo's resignation - on the preparatory cartons not get out. One reason for the termination may have been the fact that abolished after the execution of Savonarola the People's Council again and the construction work was interrupted at the Hall of the 500 ( another interpretation: the Pope recalled him to Rome ).

The Studiolo

A typical invention of architecture in the Renaissance is the so-called Studiolo or studio, a private scholar's room of a prince - here that of Francis I of Medici. It was performed in 1570 according to plans by Vasari. This writing room measures only 8.40 x 3.30 m. Such Studioli were usually equipped with selected works of art, here with paintings and small sculptures of Florentine Mannerism. Here the prince went back to meditation from serious national political decisions, or if he wanted to remain undisturbed for certain ladies visits.

The palace dominates the Piazza della Signoria. Above the main portal, the Lion Gate, available as " gatekeepers ", a copy of Michelangelo's David and Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus. Facing south towards the Arno close behind the Via del Ninna the Uffizi to.

Today, the Palazzo Vecchio serves as the town hall of Florence.

The town hall of the Central Franconian town of Fürth (1840 /50) was modeled on the Palazzo Vecchio. The town hall in Opole resembles the Palazzo Vecchio