Loggia Lanzi (Loggia dei Lanzi) or Loggia Signoria (Loggia della Signoria) is a loggia in Florence, which has valuable sculptures and is included in the list of attractions of the city.
The Loggia della Signoria is located in the historical center of Florence, on Piazza della Signoria, where the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) is also located, where the Signoria, the city government body, met.
The Loggia dei Lanzi is an open gallery on both sides with an arcade on columns. The back side of the loggia adjoins the Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi).
The loggia was built between 1376 and 1382 by Benci di Chione and Simone di Francesco Talenti, possibly designed by Jacopo di Sione. The loggia was intended to accommodate popular gatherings and public ceremonies, such as the swearing-in of gonfaloniers and priors.
The loggia is an open gallery on both sides, consisting of wide arches supported by grouped pilasters with Corinthian capitals.
In the upper part of the loggia, a belt of machicolations stands out. Under the parapet are trefoils (four Gothic trifolia) with allegorical figures of the four main virtues: fortitude, moderation, justice and prudence; works by Agnolo Gaddi.
Wide steps lead to the loggia, on both sides of which the Medici lions are placed on low pedestals - marble statues of lions, heraldic symbols of Florence, resting their paws on a ball.
The lion on the right dates back to Roman times, and the one on the left was created by Flaminio Vacca in 1598 for the Villa Medici in Rome, but moved to the Loggia of Florence in 1789. Lions symbolize protection and protection from enemy forces, and the ball is a symbol of vigilance and an attribute of "vigilant guards".
The internal arch of the Loggia, consisting of semicircles, was made by Florentine Antonio de Pucci.
Currently, the Lanzi Loggia is a kind of museum, where an exposition of sculptural works from the collection of the Uffizi Gallery is located.
15 sculptures in the loggia belong to the classical era and the period of Mannerism: an ancient Roman replica of the ancient Greek sculpture "Menelaus with the body of Patroclus", "The Abduction of the Sabines" (1583), "The Abduction of Polyxena" (1865) by the Italian sculptor Pio Fedi, "Hercules and the Centaur" (1599) by the sculptor Giambologna, Pascino Group, Perseus with the head of medusa, the statue of Tusnelda, etc.
Layout of sculptures and sculpture groups in the Lanzi Loggia
On the roof of the Lanzi Loggia there is an outdoor terrace of the cafe of the Uffizi Gallery "Caffeteria Galleria Degli Uffizi", which overlooks the Piazza della Signoria.
You can visit the Lanzi Loggia for free. Entrance from Piazza della Signoria.
Coordinates of the Lanzi Loggia: 43°46'09.0"N 11°15'20.0"E (43.769167, 11.255556).
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