Piazza della Signoria is in the center of Florence, and is considered the most important piazza for citizens and visitors of the city. We walked past this piazza almost every day while we explore the city.
If you have just started here on our blog, this is a post in a series which tracks our road trip from Lausanne (Switzerland) to Tuscany, stopping along the way at Turin, Genoa and Cinque Terre. There will be quite a few entries about Florence. Follow us.
The piazza was named after the Palazzo della Signoria built in 1299, renamed as Palazzo Vecchio (old palace) after Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici moved his official seat across the river Arno to Palazzo Pitti in 1540.
Palazzo Vecchio is currently the town hall of Florence and houses the administrative offices of city councillors and politicians.
It is a solid cubical stone building with a crenellated top and a clock tower (Torre d’Arnolfo) named after the architect.
At a corner of the Piazza next to Palazzo Vecchio is Loggia dei Lanzi, consisting of three wide open arches and bays in which are installed a number of statues, the loggia effectively serving as an open-air sculpture gallery. The structure was constructed in the 1500’s to house German mercenary pikeman and later used as a terrace for the Medici princes to watch ceremonies in the piazza.
In the Loggia, the first statue on the left is a Renaissance bronze statue of Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini completed in 1554. It shows the mythical Greek hero holding his sword in his right hand and holding up the Medusa’s severed head in his left.
The marble sculpture on the far right – The Abduction of the Sabine Women – is by Giambologna (Flemish artist named Jean de Boulogne) in the Mannerist style which emphasized spiraling form. Giambologna also created Hercules and Nessus the Centaur in 1599 in the center bay. Click the individual photo to see more of the sculpture.
Many of the monuments in Florence are commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519 –1574) who was the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Cosimo I was an authoritarian ruler and secured his position by employing a guard of Swiss mercenaries. He created the Uffizi (see later post) which is one of the world’s most important collections of art, much of it commissioned and/or owned by various members of the Medici family.
In front of the Tribunale della Mercanzia is the monument of Cosimo I, a bronze equestrian statue executed by Giambologna from 1587 to 1594, and erected in 1594.
The piazza is not a square but of L-shape, which hugs Palazzo Vecchio with the Neptune Fountain (Fontana del Nettuno) situated at the inner corner of the “L” whereas the Tribunale borders one end of the piazza.
Neptune Fountain (built 1565-1575 by Bartolomeo Ammannati) is a tribute to Cosimo I who was a naval commander that brought a victory over Pisa.
The Fountain of Neptune consists of many different parts; aside from the giant Neptune atop a shell-shaped horse-drawn chariot, the fountain also has tritons (mermen with tails), satyrs (humanoid siprit with goat features), two young women with putti (winged male babies), two young men with dolphins, and fauns (half-man, half-goat creature).
The status was vandalized as soon as it was installed 400+ years ago and it underwent a 1.5 million euro restoration in 2019 funded by Salvatore Ferragamo, the local designer shoe maker.
There are restaurants in one corner of the piazza near the Loggia. It would be a very nice way to take in the sights and enjoy the evening in the piazza. One restaurant was cooling off the outdoor diners with a fine mist but we questioned the hygiene in this practice.
Between the Loggia dei Lanzi and Palazzo Vecchio is a narrow elongated piazza that offers access to the Uffizi Gallery, and the River Arno at the far end.
A replica of the David by Michelangelo is placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The original is on display at Galleria dell’ Accademia (see our earlier post).
On the other side of the entrance is the marble sculpture Hercules and Caucus by Baccio Bandinelli in 1534.
With political undertones, both statues signified strength of the Medici family in the city.
A block from Piazza della Signoria is Piazza del Mercato Nuovo where we saw Il Porcellino – the famous bronze boar sculpture at the Fontana del Porcellino. The original was created around 1634 and the present statue was placed there in 2008. Visitors are to put a coin into its jaws so that it fall though the underlying grating, and to rub the snout for the chance for another visit to Florence, a tradition noted since the 1700’s.
Well, we did not know the tradition at the time but regardless, it is highly likely that we will return to this wonderful city.
If you are interested in this piazza in the context of urban Florence, switch the Google map above to 3D view or Street View.
If you like to follow us on this epic Italian road trip, click here for the next post. We will visit a few more Florentine piazzas later on this blog. Subscribe to get notice on fresh postings.