Palace Strozzi (Palazzo Strozzi) is a Renaissance palace in Florence, which has a beautiful courtyard and hosts exhibitions and various events.
The name "Strozzi" was given to the palace in honor of the influential Florentine Strozzi family, who built and lived in the palace.
The palace was erected by order of Filippo Strozzi, after the expulsion of the Strozzi family men from Florence was canceled in 1466, and they returned back to the city. The decision to exile was made by Cosimo the Elder Medici in 1434, because the Strozzi opposed the Medici.
Returning to his homeland, Filippo Strozzi devoted himself to building his own house in order to build the "largest and most beautiful palace" in Florence, which would eclipse the palace of the Medici family - Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. From 1473 to 1489, Phillipo acquired lands and houses "in the most convenient and beautiful place in the city." The first stone of the ancestral nest was laid, on the advice of an astrologer, at dawn on August 6, 1489 under the sign of Leo. The architect of the original design of the palace is unknown, but Benedetto da Maiano and Giuliano da Sangallo provided a wooden model of the palace.
Filippo Strozzi died in 1491, and the construction was continued by his heirs. In 1507, the first floor of the palace began to be inhabited.
The palace was finally built in 1538 by the Italian architect and sculptor Baccio d'Agnolo, who also created the interior rooms with furniture, but left unfinished part of the cornice on one side, which remains so today.
The building was confiscated by Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1538 due to the war against Florentine exiles led by Filippo and Piero Strozzi. Thirty years later, the palace was returned to Cardinal Lorenzo Strozzi, Filippo's brother, who meanwhile died in prison. In 1638, architect Gerardo Silvani built a chapel on the ground floor of the building, and in 1662 expanded the staircase from Via de' Tornabuoni (Via de' Tornabuoni). From the same street in 1864, the architect Giuseppe Poggi added the so-called "via bench" to the wall of the palace on behalf of Prince Ferdinando Strozzi.
In 1907 Piero Strozzi died without heirs, and in 1937 the building passed to the Institute of National Insurance (INA). In 1999, the institute sold the building to the Italian state.
Today, the former palace is a magnificent example of noble mansions of the Italian Renaissance. Rusticated stone is clearly visible in the exterior.
On three sides, the palace has three-dimensional arched entrance portals, multi-leaf paired windows, a dominant cornice in the upper part and wrought iron decorations, including ferro (rings for tying horses), flagpoles, stands for torches and lanterns in the form of small temples with spires placed at the corners of the building.
The most interesting of the forged jewelry is, perhaps, a stand for a flagpole in the form of a dragon, the work of the Italian master Niccolo Grosso. A torch stand with a picture of a wyvern with a human face also stands out.
Inside the walls of the palace there is a large courtyard with a portico.
The courtyard is surrounded on all four sides by arches and columns topped with Corinthian capitals.
Today, the palace is one of the most important museums in Florence (Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi) and is used as a venue for cultural and exhibition events and fashion shows.
The building of the palace also houses: the National Institute for Renaissance Studies, the G.P. Viesse Cabinet of Scientific Literature and the Higher School.
Practical information
The cost of entrance tickets depends on the exhibition or event held in the palace.
You can enter and see the courtyard of the palace for free.
Information about exhibitions and events held within the walls of the Strozzi Palace, as well as ticket prices and opening hours, we recommend checking on the official website: palazzostrozzi.org.
Strozzi Palace is located in the historical center of Florence on the famous designer street Via de‘ Tornabuoni, at the address: Piazza degli Strozzi, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy.
Coordinates of the Strozzi Palace: 43°46'17.0"N 11°15'07.0"E (43.771389, 11.251944).
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