Palazzo dell'Antella (also Palazzo Atellesi) is a palace with a frescoed façade located on

Piazza Santa Croce Piazza Santa Croce is one of the main plazas or squares located in the central neighbourhood of Florence, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. It is located near Piazza della Signoria and the National Central Library, and takes its name from the B ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, region of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, Italy.

History

Of medieval origins, it was first enlarged in the late 16th century with the addition of a top floor. In the early 17th century it was acquired by Niccolò dell'Antella, together with a nearby one: he commissioned the repainting of the two façades, executed in 1619-1620 by a group of artists (including

Domenico Passignano Domenico Passignano (1559 – 17 May 1638), born Domenico Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late- Renaissance or Counter-''Maniera'' (Counter-Mannerism) style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century. Biography ...

Matteo Rosselli Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter- Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first app ...

Ottavio Vannini Ottavio Vannini (September 15, 1585 – c. 1643) was an Italian artist of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. Biography Born in Florence to Michele Vannini. He initially apprenticed for four years with a mediocre painter by t ...

and others) under the direction of

Giovanni da San Giovanni Giovanni da San Giovanni (20 March 1592 – 9 December 1636), also known as Giovanni Mannozzi, was an Italian painter of the early Baroque period, active in Florence. Biography Born in San Giovanni Valdarno, he trained under Matteo Rosselli. ...

, and the design of architect

Giulio Parigi Giulio Parigi (6 April 1571 – 13 July 1635) was an Italian architect and designer. He was the main member of a family of architects and designers working for the Grand Ducal court of the Medici. His father, Alfonso Parigi the Elder, was an ...

. The painted decoration consists of a series of panels with allegorical representations, puttos, flowers, vegetable motifs and

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

s. At the centre is the bust of

Cosimo II de' Medici Cosimo II de' Medici (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his death. He was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. For the majority of his twelve-ye ...

. As they become closer to the church of Santa Croce, the windows are nearer to each other, in order to provide an illusory enlargement of the façade. The internal garden once housed a marble fountain and a statue of "Youth" by

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

, now disassembled in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Today, the ground floor is used by restaurants and shops, and the upper floors are luxury apartments.

References

Sources

* {{Coord, 43, 46, 7.35, N, 11, 15, 40.15, E, type:landmark, display=title Antella Houses completed in 1620 1620 establishments in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1620 establishments in Italy