Beach holiday / 30.12.2023

Medici Palace in Florence. Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. Opening hours of Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

Palazzo Medici Riccardi 43°46′31.10″ n. w. 11°15′19.10″ E. d. HGIOL

Palazzo Medici Riccardi(Italian: Palazzo Medici Riccardi) is the palace of the Medici family in the center of Florence, Italy, located on Via Cavour not far from the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The first secular building of the early Renaissance in the city, it was built by Cosimo de' Medici's favorite architect Michelozzo. The palace currently houses the Riccardian Library.

The floors of the building, made of different masonry, divide the façade of the palazzo into three tiers. The rough rustication of the lower floor gradually gives way to smoother slabs on the second floor and perfectly fitted slabs on the third floor. For the first time since ancient times, a cornice with consoles was placed along the top of the building, protruding far forward. In 1517, the open loggia on the south-east side was covered with brick, and windows with tympanum, the creation of which Michelangelo is credited, were cut into the walled arches.

The ground floor is made of rough and unpolished stone and, reminiscent of fortress masonry, is meant to symbolize stability. There were stables, a kitchen and housing for staff. Externally, the second floor, made of polished stone, is separated from the first by a crenellated frieze and cornice and decorated with the Medici coat of arms.

Garden of Palazzo Medici Riccardi

On the second floor, called "piano noble", there were living quarters of the owners and representative premises. The plastered halls contained bedrooms and storage rooms. The rooms, which are located around the square courtyard of the palazzo, are small in size. The courtyard, where lemon trees grow and sculptures are installed, also repeats the basic idea of a rectangle divided into three tiers. From that time on, courtyards became mandatory in all aristocratic palaces.

Cosimo de' Medici the Elder commissioned the construction of the palazzo in 1444 to the architect Michelozzo. The palace was intended to highlight Cosimo the Elder's new position in power following his return from exile in 1434. The goal was achieved by an unusual method: for the first time, rusticated flagstone was used in the decoration of a residential building, which until then had been the privilege of only public buildings. According to the customer’s plan, the palazzo should not be excessively luxurious, so as not to arouse the envy of other patrician families. Cosimo de' Medici was at this time the most influential of the 80 Florentine bankers. The palace was supposed to house both residential premises and the headquarters of the Medici bank. Michelozzo worked on the palazzo for 20 years.

This is the first residence of the city ruler that has come down to us from the time when the Medici dynasty was not yet ruling. During the time of the so-called cryptosenoria, many respected and wealthy gentlemen, without being official rulers, decided the destinies of cities. One of these lords was Cosimo Medici (the Elder), who soon became the ruler of Florence.

History of construction

The project was originally conceived as a residence for Cosimo de' Medici and his large family. The author of this project is Filipo Brunelleschi. He even made a special model of the palace to show it to the Duke of Tuscany in all its glory.

The plan was grandiose and surpassed in luxury all the palaces known at that time. But the ruler forced the architect to redo the plan and removed half of the decorations that were unnecessary in his opinion. He said that luxury would only cause envy and attract unnecessary attention.

Brunelleschi's project was rejected. The architect was so hurt and angry that he even broke the model of the palazzo so that no one could use his ideas.

The next design for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence was presented to the Duke by the architect Michelozzo di Bartolomeo - the Duke's favorite - in 1444. Keeping in mind the fate of the previous project, Michelozzo compiled a laconic and organic layout of the palace, which combined luxury and restraint at the same time. The Medici accepted the project unconditionally, and construction began.

Construction lasted almost 20 years.

By the way, all the palaces built after the Palazzo Medici were not supposed to surpass it in beauty and decoration, otherwise the owner of the building could be accused of arrogance.

Soon the Medici and their family moved to a more spacious house next to the Palazzo Medici (1537), and after a while - to the more spacious Palazzo Pitti. During the reign of Pietro Medici, the family was forced to leave the Medici Palace to escape the crowd.

They were able to take only a small part of their things with them; the rest was looted. Since then, there has been a period of decline for the family, and it was decided to sell the palace. The fate of the palazzo was decided quite quickly- in 1655, the Medici family sold the palace to the Marquis Gabriello Ricciardi.

After the palace changed owners, it changed significantly– the building was expanded almost twice, and Baroque style decoration appeared inside.

This addition only gave the building additional grandeur and entertainment. The interior of the palazzo also changed: features of the Baroque style, which was gaining popularity, began to predominate in it. Furniture and architectural decorations were also designed in this style.. A Mirror Gallery appeared, new frescoes and luxurious gilded bas-reliefs were added.

In 1814, the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi was sold by its owner to the Italian state, and in 1874 the building was transferred to the province; from the same year, the premises of the palace were occupied by the prefecture of Florence.

Do you dream of seeing the Juventus Stadium with your own eyes? you will find many photos and the history of the construction of the famous sports complex!

Description of the palace

Externally, the Medici-Ricciardi Palace is not particularly remarkable - an ordinary rectangular three-tier building in the spirit of the Renaissance.

The first floor is finished in rusticated stone and looks quite rough– but that’s the idea: the floor symbolizes the power and inviolability of the Medici’s power. In addition, Cosimo de' Medici was the first to apply rusticated stone finishing to a residential building - before that, only public buildings were decorated with rusticated stone. The floor was completely occupied by utility rooms, a kitchen and a stable.

The second floor is lined with smooth slabs, and the second floor was separated from the first floor by a small stone crenellated frieze with family heraldry. The entire second floor (piano nobile) is living quarters, apartments for the owners of the palazzo, and representative premises: after all, the palazzo was not just a home for the Medici family, but also the official banking house, the headquarters of the Medici financial clan.

The rooms were simply huge - after all, the banker’s entire family lived here - and these were two sons with their wives and children, servants. Along the entire perimeter of the floor there are arched windows with tympanums - lancet-shaped niches (designed by Michelangelo himself).

The decoration of the second floor is amazing: the ceilings are decorated with gilded stucco, the floors are covered with tiles from rare varieties of marble, the doors and wall elements are inlaid with mosaics from various expensive types of wood.

The third floor is lined with marble and is an arched gallery - a loggia, which was located according to the project on the eastern side of the palazzo. Today the loggia is completely walled up.

The palazzo building is crowned with a strongly protruding cornice with a high console. This cornice became a kind of prototype for many Italian buildings built later.

Inside the complex there is the same quadrangular courtyard, framed by arcades. Thanks to the arches and columns in the Corinthian style, the courtyard gives the impression of lightness and elegance. The frame on the inside is almost identical to the finish on the outside.

The first floor, however, is more airy - the covered arches give the palace a less ponderous appearance. The ground floor gallery is decorated with Medici coats of arms, bas-reliefs and scenes from mythology (by Bertoldo di Giovanni).

There are numerous statues in the courtyard, including statues of David by two sculptors - Verrochio and Donatello. There are tubs of lemon trees throughout the courtyard., as was customary in many palazzos.

A historical inscription is visible on the southern wall: it glorifies the Medici family and their contribution to the development of the city, and does not ignore Duke Ricciardi, who made a significant contribution to the reconstruction of the palace. The inscription was placed in 1715.

Some of the palace premises have been preserved in almost the same form as they were in the 17th century. For example, Gallery of mirrors with unforgettable frescoes by Luca Giordano(the hall is also called Giordano Gallery, named after the author). Personal belongings belonging to the Medici or Riccardi family, of course, cannot be found here - what survived was transferred to the historical museum.

The most visited place in the palace is the Chapel of the Magi(Cappella dei Magi). A striking attraction of the chapel are the frescoes, among which the fresco “Procession of the Magi to Bethlehem” (works by Benozzo Gozzoli, commissioned by Piero Medici) stands out.

The central part of the fresco is located opposite the entrance and depicts the “Adoration” scene, and three walls are the procession of the Magi with gifts. In the images of the magicians and kings, you can easily recognize both the owners of the castle and famous historical figures of that time.

Opening hours, ticket prices

Today the palace houses the famous Riccardian Library. It was founded in 1660 by order of Ricardo Ricciardi (hence the name). After some time, in 1715 part of the library was opened to visitors.

April 9th, 2012 , 11:26 pm

As I already told you, before visiting the gastronomic exhibition, the girls and I visited the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi.
It is located on Rue Cavour (formerly this street was called Via Larga - "Wide Street").

The text in italics is from Henry Morton's Walks in Italy.

The massive palaces of bankers, especially after dark, look very impressive. At night they seem to move closer to each other, whispering, probably, about the royal bankruptcy. Like all buildings that deal with money, they have a wary appearance.

The Medici Palace gave birth to Italian palazzos. It was the first palace built in the Renaissance style. The fashion for this style spread throughout all the big and small cities of Italy, after which it crossed the Alps and burst into the cities of Europe. Roughly processed stones or so-called rustic lower floors, reminiscent of the fortress walls of Etruscan cities, have become an indispensable element of the architectural design of wealthy mansions, government offices and clubs around the world. The Medici Palace is still very attractive, although its area has grown compared to what it was during the lifetime of the rulers.

On March 28, 1659, the Marquis Gabriello Riccardi signed a contract to purchase the Palazzo Medici, becoming the owner of the Palazzo and three other nearby buildings owned by the Medici.
The Marquis Riccardi immediately began to rebuild the Palace and expand it.
He adhered to two main principles: the appearance of the building should be preserved in the Renaissance style, and the interior decoration should be revised in the Baroque style, which then became fashionable.
In 1814, the Riccardi sold the palace to the family of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Loren.
In 1874, the Province of Florence acquired the building and opened the Prefecture of the city here.

Cosimo the Elder built this massive building in 1440, and for several hundred years all the senior Medici lived there, until during the reign of Piero the Loser they were kicked out of there, and all the treasures that could be carried away were plundered by a mob. The old banker rejected Brunelleschi's project: he considered that the building was too elegant and would therefore arouse envy. They say that Brunelleschi was offended, and perhaps angry, and broke his model into small pieces, but Michelozzo, Cosimo’s favorite, presented a project that the banker liked. So on the corner of one of the busiest streets - Via Cavour - the first Renaissance mansion appeared. Other architects looked up to this building: if they had built a palace for another banker that was superior in luxury to Cosimo’s house, they would immediately say that this banker was too arrogant.

There is no exact explanation for the meaning of the Medici coat of arms. One of the versions refers to the manuscript of Cosimo Baroncelli of the 15th-16th centuries, stored precisely in the library of the Medici Palace. Legend says that the Medici family is connected with Charlemagne. A certain Averardo de' Medici, commander of the army of Charlemagne, expelled the Lombards from Tuscany and with them the giant Mugello. In hand-to-hand combat with a monstrous giant, Averardo defended himself with a shield. Mugello struck the shield with his club, with iron balls attached to it. Thus, the traces of these balls on the shield became the coat of arms of the famous family. And the area where the Medici later had their first land is called Mugello.

Nowadays the palace is occupied by the prefecture, but visitors can explore the courtyard. They are then taken upstairs and shown a tiny family chapel with cheerful frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli.
The yard is charming. Anyone who passed under its arches in the time of Lorenzo could see two “Da-views” above the atrium at once: one by Donatello, and the other by Verrocchio.

After the oppressive power of the façade, when you enter the courtyard, you feel the unprecedented lightness that three orders give the structure, as if flying upward.

The courtyard is also called the "Patio with Columns" or "Michelozzo's Courtyard".
The harmony of the architectural design of the courtyard creates the effect of symmetry, which is not there.
The first order is a covered arched gallery with columns decorated with Corinthian capitals, a frieze with medallions, Medici coats of arms and mythological scenes (Bertoldo di Giovanni), with festoons decorated with monochrome graffito (Maso di Bartolomeo 1452).
According to the second order, there are windows separated by a column, repeating the windows of the external facade of the building.
The third order is an arched gallery with Ionic columns, currently glazed.

Soooo, not Eurydice yet, but soon there will be Orpheus.

On the southern wall of the courtyard, on a monumental stone cartouche, there is an inscription of 1715. The inscription glorifies the history of the Palace, the greatness of the Medici and does not ignore the Marquises Ricciardi with their grandiose contribution to the renovation of the building.
On the walls there are also exhibits from the archaeological collection of Riccardi: busts, heads, fragments of reliefs and Roman sarcophagi.

Under the arches of the first order there is the sculpture “Orpheus pacifying Cerberus with the singing” (Baccio Bandinelli, 1515). The statue stands on an exquisite pedestal with the emblems and coats of arms of the Medici (Benedetto da Rovenzzano).

The garden here is regular: geometric flower beds, paths with a mosaic pattern, and in the old days there were trimmed bushes and trees - in the shape of dogs, deer and elephants. In the center stood “Judith” by Donatello. Now it is located on the steps of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Now there are tubs of citrus fruits and... us.

We left the Chapel of the Magi for last.

“We were in no hurry to get down to what interested us most. No, we were in no hurry at all! We felt like gourmets. We didn’t pounce on the food. We inhaled the aromas, we rolled our eyes and smacked our lips, we rubbed our hands as we walked around, we were looking forward to..." *

First we toured the exhibition of jeweler Iznav Oruam. She was in the gallery adjacent to the garden.

Then we moved on to an exhibition of art objects from private collections. It was called "Le stanze dei tesori".
I didn’t get all the photographs, but there was furniture, armor, clay products, and paintings by Fattori and De Chirico.

Arturo Martini "The Sailor's Wife" 1930.

Agnolo di Cosimo (nickname - Bronzino) Portrait of Laura Battiferri 1555-1560.
Yes, this is the same Bronzino I wrote about, about his poem about panzanella.

Only then did we go up to the second floor and admire the interior decoration.

If you go to the palace, hoping to see the personal belongings of the Medici there, you will be disappointed: even the traces left on the marble steps have no relation not only to the elders, but also to the younger Medici, since the entire palace was rebuilt when In the 17th century, the building was bought by the Marquise Riccardi. All Italian palaces are designed for a large family, but the buildings do not seem so huge when you remember that six or seven sons lived in them with their wives, children and servants.

Hall of Charles VIII.
In 1494, Italy was occupied by the troops of King Charles VIII. Florence, led by Piero di Gino Capponi, stubbornly resisted the French. Under threat of French attack, Capponi responded to ransom requests: “If you blow the trumpets, we will ring the bells.” It happened in this hall, and the phrase went down in history.

Well done, Pierrot! I would answer that way too!

The premises of the second, front, floor are distinguished by rich decoration: the walls are lined with marble, gilded ceilings are decorated with stucco decorations, the floors are covered with marble tiles, windows and doors have relief frames, furniture and doors are inlaid with mosaics made of wood of different tones.

In his old age, Cosimo grieved because his family was small. A son and grandson are deceased; the sick heir, Pierrot Gout, and two grandchildren remained in the house. They heard him sigh as they carried him in a chair, beaten down by gout, through the palace: “The house is too big for such a small family!”

Giordano Gallery or Gallery of Mirrors, it is also located on the ground floor.
The room is decorated with a vault with frescoes painted by Luca Giordano between 1682 and 1685.
The frescoes were commissioned from the Neapolitan artist by the grandson of the Marquis Gabriello Riccardi, Francesco. The frescoes depict allegorical figures.

Loriana admires the frescoes on the ceiling.

In the central part of the vault is the main composition “Triumph of the Medici on the Clouds of Olympus”.

You can see it better here.
Jupiter is at the top of the cloudy Olympus, and around him are characters who can be recognized as members of the Medici family.
The central character with a lion at his feet is the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de' Medici.
On either side of him are his sons: Gian Gastone (left) and Ferdinando de' Medici (right), both riding white horses.
Below, in red robes, is Francesco Maria de' Medici, brother of Cosimo III.
Above, on both sides of the god, you can see two characters with stars burning above their heads.
These stars symbolize the moons of Jupiter, discovered by Galleleo Gallelei, which he dedicated to the Medici family. He called them the Medicean stars (Stellae Medicae in lat.)

Mirror (find Lena!)

Before reaching the Chapel of the Magi, we met another pleasant vision: “Madonna and Child” by Filippo Lippi. (1460-1469)

Fra Filippo himself was a controversial character.
He was born in Florence ca. 1406.
In 1421 he was ordained a monk and lived in a Carmelite monastery in Florence until 1431.
In 1442 Filippo became a priest in San Chirico near Florence.
In 1455 Filippo Lippi was convicted of forgery and left his place in San Chirico.
Appointed in 1456 as a chaplain to a convent in Prato, he fled with one of the nuns, Lucrezia Buti, who bore him two children: Filippino in 1457 and Alexandra in 1465. Later, after receiving special permission from the pope, Filippo and Lucrezia were married. Despite his scandalous behavior, Filippo enjoyed the patronage of the Medici family and received orders from them throughout his creative life.
Filippo Lippi died in Spoleto in 1469.

On the reverse side is a sketch of a man's head, presumably this is Gerolomo's head (I didn't get a photo).
It is impossible to remain indifferent to this embodiment of maternal tenderness and bright warmth.

Finally, holding our breath, we entered the Chapel of the Magi. This is a small room consisting of two rooms. It felt like we were in a fairy tale box. The procession of the Magi moved slowly: some young men and old men looked at us from the walls, while others went about their business and did not pay attention to us. Only the soft pattering of hooves entered the silence of this chamber chapel. The smell of laurel and white rose hips was felt.
While there, you fall out of reality for a while. The faces are so distant and, at the same time, so close; they can still be seen on the streets of Florence today. Only the clothes are different. I want to look at everything, capture every detail in my memory.

The chapel remained as the Medici knew it. I sat down on a seat on the choir, admiring Gozzoli’s fresco “Three Kings on the Road to Bethlehem.” You will see a reproduction of this fresco in almost every book devoted to Italian painting. The same barbarian as the one who cut the door in Leonardo’s “Last Supper” also cut a window and a door in this fresco.

Each of the three kings has its own tuple. These detachments are built according to the scheme used in Florence during games and knightly competitions.
The entire procession of the Magi is divided into three squads, each of which has its own dominant color in clothing: white for Caspar, green for Balthasar and red for Melchior.
According to the code of chivalry, each squad consists of 12 people.
Messer is a lord on a horse (in this case, a king).
Three mounted pages ride ahead, their duty is to announce the arrival of the signor.
Two knights: one with a sword (symbol of power lo spartharius), and the second carries the gifts of the Messer.
Six foot pages with light weapons (bows, crossbows, spears), they walk in pairs and escort the Messer.

On the altar since 1929, there is the "Adoration of the Child" by one of Filippo Lippi's students. This is a copy of a work by Lippi himself, which is now in the Berlin-Dahlem art gallery.

I think this is the most beautiful procession against the backdrop of the Italian landscape. The Three Kings head to Bethlehem in Tuscany. So they came out of the gates of the bright cities and, having descended from the mountain peak along a serpentine road, together with their retinues pass through forests with conical-shaped trees, and the road goes further and further, runs up a humpbacked bridge, slowly passes through a meadow, goes past vineyards and cypresses. The landscape seems to be taken from a fairy tale. It's hard to believe that anyone here could be unhappy.
The travelers ride in reverent silence. Neither the singing of a trumpet nor the gentle sound of a flute disturbs it. The saddles are covered with red velvet, the riders hold embroidered bridles, and the horses are decorated with gold. One of the riders, having descended from the mountain, starts his horse into a gallop, seeing a deer; the other catches up with the leopard. The falcon that has just killed a hare stands almost under the hooves of the horses, and the duck swims in the stream, not paying attention to the hunters.

One of the three kings, a white-bearded old man in dark red clothes, rides a spotted mule.
(Melchior)

The other king is a middle-aged man with a brown beard. On top of the crown he wore a hat with ostrich feathers. He mounted a white stallion.
(Balthazar)

The third is a fair-haired young man in a luxurious golden vestment, his spurs are also gilded. His horse is proud of its rider.
(Caspar)

In the picture, the people’s smiles are not visible, but the Tuscan landscape, smiling, looks at the serious pilgrims making their way to Bethlehem.

The guide told a legend, which has recently been refuted, that the fresco immortalized the congress in Florence, and the young king was Lorenzo the Magnificent. I didn’t really believe it before. Why would the Medici family perpetuate a theological dispute that never ended? Cosimo financed it out of friendship for the needy pope, wisely taking the city of Sansepolcro as collateral! It seems that the bankers, accustomed to writing off bad debts, would be glad to forget about that inglorious congress, and not see it every day in their own chapel. And the guide continued to talk about what a magnificent spectacle it was - a meeting of representatives of the Greek and Latin churches. Gots-tsoli probably witnessed this event and captured it on his fresco. In fact, there was nothing magnificent there, and the inhabitants of Ferrara, the city where this congress began, were very disappointed by the sight of Greek bishops in black and purple cassocks and monks in threadbare gray cassocks. Their own Latin bishops and abbots were much more picturesque. When the convention moved to Florence, the ceremony was ruined by rain. Emperor John VIII rode under an umbrella through the wet streets.

The guide, however, insisted that it was a magnificent spectacle. He said that the old king was the patriarch Joseph; a middle-aged man - an emperor; and the young man is Lorenzo the Magnificent. I lived with the portrait of the young king on a large lampshade for twenty years, and I had enough time to ask myself the question: could a person who saw Lorenzo’s death mask really imagine that the rough, wide-nosed face of the Medici could do anything, even in the most tender childhood, to resemble the blond young man from the fresco?

In 1960, I read with pleasure that, while thinking about the story connecting the Gozzoli fresco with the congress in Florence, E. Gombrich drew attention to the French guidebook published in 1888, “Guide to Florence.” “Wanting to revive the events of the foggy past and give them authenticity,” writes Mr. Gombrich, “tourists and even historians seized on this interpretation, not paying attention to its complete improbability.”
The author further reports that Gozzoli borrowed all these groups, including the three kings, from the famous painting by Gentile de Fabriano, painted on the same subject. This picture can be seen in the Uffizi. In the painting, dated 1423 - twenty-six years before Lorenzo's birth - you will see the handsome young king, the king from the Gozzoli fresco. Gozzoli was obviously fascinated by this figure.

He painted it again in Pisa on a fresco, which, unfortunately, was destroyed. Gozzoli, by the way, is not the only artist who copied the graceful young man. It seems to me that I will not be mistaken if I say that I recognized him, like the middle-aged king, in the charming fresco by Fra Angelico, painted on the walls of the cell of St. Mark, the one where Cosimo the Elder indulged in prayer.

Did it occur to anyone that the Adoration of the Magi might have been Cozimo's favorite religious theme? This can be understood: who, if not he, gave the church so much gold and incense? Cosimo himself is depicted in the fresco painted by Botticelli. He is represented in the guise of one of the kneeling kings. The fresco was painted a few years after Cosimo's death for the altar of the church of Santa Maria Novella.

1. Lorenzo de' Medici
2. Angelo Poliziano
3. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
4. Customer of the painting by Gaspare Lamy
5. Cosimo de' Medici
6. Pierrot “Gouty”
7. Giovanni Medici
8. Giuliano Medici
9. Filippo Strozzi
10. Giovanni Agriropoulo
11. Sandro Botticelli
12. Lorenzo Tornabuoni

The guide finished the story, and I regretted that I did not have the decisiveness of a person who, out of love for the truth, forgets about embarrassment and publicly objects to someone.

Now a little about the characters depicted on the frescoes. (Based on research by art historians).

1 - Cosimo the Elder de' Medici
2 - Piero Gouty de Medici, the harness of his white horse is decorated with family emblems and the motto “Semper” (always).
3 - Carlo di Cosimo de' Medici
4 - Galeazzo Maria Sforza
5 - Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta
6 - Cosimino di Giovanni di Cosimo di Medici (?) was in poor health at the age of six and soon died, in November 1459.
7 - Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, nickname - Magnificent
8 - Giuliano di Piero de' Medici
9 - Gentile Becchi, mentor to Lorenzo and Giuliano
10 - Giuliano di Piero de' Medici (?)
11 - Giovanni di Francesco Tornabuoni (?), uncle of Lorenzo and Giuliano, brother of their mother Lucrezia, representative in Rome of the Medici Bank
12 - Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici (?)
13 - Benozzo Gozzoli
14 - Papa Pio II Piccolomini

Doesn't the central character in the blue headdress remind you of Putin?

Benozzo Gozzoli, on his cap it says Opus Benotii(work by Benozzo).

15. Benozzo Gozzoli (?) second self-portrait
16. Neri di Gino Capponi (?) diplomat, historical writer, supporter of Cosimo de' Medici
17. Bernardo Giugni (?) personal friend of Cosimo, a prominent figure in the Florentine Republic.
18. Francesco Sasetti (?) in 1447, director of the Medici Bank branches in Geneva and Leon, raises his hand with open fingers, which at that time meant 5000.
19. Agnolo Tani (?) in 1450-1465 director of the Medici bank branch in Bruges.
20. Dietisalvi Neroni (?) at that time an ally of the Medici, later became a sworn enemy and participated in a conspiracy against Piero.
21. Roberto di Niccolo Martelli (?) Director of the Medici Bank in Rome from 1439-1464.
22. Benozzo Gozzoli (?) third self-portrait.
23.Luca Pitti (?) in 1458, a gonfalonier, appointed to this position by the orders of Cosimo, later went over to the side of the enemies of the Medici and participated in a conspiracy against Piero Gout.

The palace is open to visitors every day except Wednesday. The ticket costs 7 euros.

I recently visited the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi.
It is located on Rue Cavour (formerly this street was called Via Larga - "Wide Street").

The text in italics is from Henry Morton's Walks in Italy.

Cosimo the Elder built this massive building in 1440, and for several hundred years all the senior Medici lived there, until during the reign of Piero the Loser they were kicked out of there, and all the treasures that could be carried away were plundered by a mob. The old banker rejected Brunelleschi's project: he considered that the building was too elegant and would therefore arouse envy. They say that Brunelleschi was offended, and perhaps angry, and broke his model into small pieces, but Michelozzo, Cosimo’s favorite, presented a project that the banker liked. This is how the first Renaissance mansion appeared on the corner of one of the busiest streets, Via Cavour. Other architects looked up to this building: if they had built a palace for another banker that was superior in luxury to Cosimo’s house, they would immediately say that this banker was too arrogant.

After the oppressive power of the façade, when you enter the courtyard, you feel the unprecedented lightness that three orders give the structure, as if flying upward.

Now there are tubs of citrus fruits and... us.

We left the Chapel of the Magi for last.

First we toured the exhibition of jeweler Iznav Oruam. She was in the gallery adjacent to the garden.

Arturo Martini "The Sailor's Wife" 1930.

Agnolo di Cosimo (nickname - Bronzino) Portrait of Laura Battiferri 1555-1560.