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 3_Palazzo Medici
_ _ _ First Itinerary
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For some strange twist fate none of the great monuments constructed by the Medici
in their own city carry their name. Even this building, even though it
was their symbol for centuries, is known with the name of the Riccardi,
the family that acquired it in the sixteen hundreds.
Built between 1444 and 1460 by the architect and sculptor Michelozzo Michelozzi,
a student of Ghiberti and Donatello's colleague, the palazzo that
Cosimo the Elder wanted in Via Larga is the prototype for all
Florentine Renaissance palazzos. Originally the project was given to
Fillippo Brunelleschi, who was working on San Lorenzo, but the Medici
"to escape the jealousy as well as the cost" as Vasari records, were
afraid to evoke the jealousy of other citizens with a building that
appeared too 'superior' they preferred to give the commission to the
more modest Michelozzo, who was however was inspired by the
Brunellescian style. The result was a majestic and elegant building
that was further enriched by the numerous masterpieces that the Medici
commissioned. They lived there for almost a century until 1537 when
Duke Cosimo I
moved to Palazzo Vecchio before moving to the Pitti Palace.
In 1655 the palazzo was sold to the Marchese Riccardi who enlarged it
adding on seven new windows on Via Larga and commissioning Luca
Giordano to paint the frescoes in the Gallery of Mirrors, and Giovan
Battista Foggini to create the grand staircase at the entrance. They
kept the palazzo until 1814. When Florence became the capital the
Ministry of Internal Affairs was here and in 1871 it became the
Prefetture, which is still located in the building. Today, however,
most of the building is occupied with the Florentine provincial
government that will soon start managing the building alone. They have
begun restoring the space and are reorganizing the building's
collections. They plan to transform of part of the palazzo into a
Medicean Museum, like the one that was located here between 1929 and
the flood of '66. Contemporary exhibits and cultural events are
currently held in this space. A short while ago a futuristic multimedia
station was installed to allow viewers to admire on large screens the
details of Benozzo Gozzoli's fresco in the Magi Chapel located on the
middle floor of the building.
The exterior, originally separated from the surrounding buildings, was
designed by Michelozzo
as if it were a large cube with the same height and width. The two
principle sides were handled by the architect with great attention in
order to create a pictorial effect to give building volume. The first
floor is heavily rusticated, the second is more refined and the third
is in smooth stone, this motif, along with round arches, became the
standard for Florentine palazzos in this period. Rusticated stone was
originally an almost military element, but Michelozzo is able to
transform it into a decorative element and he lightens it, sanding it
down, until he gets to the smooth stone on the third floor.
The classizing cornice that crowns the building is really quite
extraordinary in its beauty. A beautiful porticoed courtyard houses
some Roman artifacts and various sculptures as well as a long series of
inscriptions and antique plaques collected by the Riccardi and
displayed according to Eighteenth century taste. Only the eight
medallions remain from the original decorations, they are attributed to
Bertoldo, Donatello's student whose only true merit is to have been a
good teacher to Michelangelo
(1491). Farther on there is a second courtyard, which is really a
garden, where at one time spectacular and large parties and plays were
held here for weddings and special occasions. The Riccardi additions
unfortunately reduced this garden by several square meters. The large
red granite bath that is now in the Archeological Museum was located
here with the copy of the Lacconte group that Baccio Bandinelli made in
Rome (currently in the Uffizi). Bandinelli also made another sculpture
that remained here the Orpheus that is placed between the two
courtyards.
This palazzo housed many of the masterpieces that are now in Florentine
museums and galleries, like the bronze Judith by Donatello and
Verocchio's fountain (both in Palazzo Vecchio). Many masterpieces were
dispersed in 1494, two years after Lorenzo the Magnificent's death, his
son Piero was thrown out of the city and the palazzo was sacked. Duke
Cosimo I later tried to recuperate some of the more precious works like
the pietra dure vases that had belonged to Lorenzo the Magnificent and
are now conserved in the Museo degli Argenti in Palazzo Pitti.
The Magi Chapel
Among the interior spaces the Chapel on the first floor built by
Michelozzo, who also designed the ceiling and the wooden chests, the
floors and inlaid chairs. On the walls you can see the famous frescoes
by Benozzo Gozzoli who depicted the "Procession of the Magi towards
Bethlehem" (1459-60), in which he portrayed numerous celebrities of the
era: Lorenzo the Magnificent with his father Piero the 'Gouty' and his
sisters Bianca, Maria and Nannina; and then Galeazzo Maria Sforza,
Sigismondo Malatesta, the Patriarch of Constantinople, head of the
Orthodox Church and the Emperor of the Orient John Paleolgus VII as
well as the painter and his master Fra Angelico in the crowd.
This 'parade' captures the subjects in their most magnificent clothes
and recalls an event of exceptional international importance: the
Ecumenical council that Cosimo the Elder was able to bring to Florence
twenty years earlier in 1439 when the eastern and western churches met
in a last attempt to reunification before Constantinople fell into the
hands of the Turks. The painter was inspired by this event, which
continued to have an influence on the city, to create a rich
celebration of the family in which the young heir Lorenzo (who, in
reality, was born ten years after the Council) guides the royal retinue
of the Magi, or wise men, and becomes one of them. This is perhaps the
first example of private glorification in a religious space and
underlines the beginning of Medici power in the Florentine Republic.
A copy of Fillipo Lippi's "Adoration of the Child" hangs over the altar
painted specifically for this space between 1458 and 1460 its
consequently named the "Adoration of Palazzo Medici". Vasari testifies
that the original was Florence in his day but today it is found in the
State Museums of Berlin. It has been there since 1821 when the
collector Solly left it to the museum in his will but it is unknown how
the painting came into his possession. The copy, however, is from the
same time period as the original, perhaps it is the work of the artist
referred to as pseudo Pier Francesco Florentino.
The Gallery that the Riccardi had constructed is also worth noticing,
decorated with stuccoes and mirrors at the end of the seventeen
hundreds, Luca Giordano painted a beautiful fresco named "Rise of the
Medici Dynasty" (1682-83) on its vault.
Today the foyer holds another recently restored masterpiece, a panel of
the "Madonna and Child" by Fillipo Lippi, another one of the artists
that Cosimo the Elder protected. Luca Giordano also painted the fresco
(1683) on the ceiling of the Ricccardian Library's Reading Room. The
Library was founded by Riccardo Riccardi and he had a space constructed
to house it. The fresco depicts human intelligence as it is being
liberated by the slavery of ignorance. The Library, which is still used
by academians today has its entrance on Via Ginori.
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi's opening hours are: weekdays 9am-7pm, Sundays
9am-1pm and it is closed on Wednesdays. |
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The Medici entrance
