The Palazzo Nonfinito ( Italian: lit. ''Unfinished Palace'') is a Mannerist-style palace located on Via del Proconsolo #12, (corner with Via del Corso) in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. Begun in 1593 using designs by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti, only the first floor was completed, and additional construction was added later by different architects. The Palace is presently the home of the Anthropology and Ethnology section of the Museum of Natural History of Florence.

History of Palace

In 1592, Alessandro

Strozzi Strozzi is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Numerous members of the Strozzi family, an ancient later ennobled family from Florence ** Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi (c. 1408–1471), an Italian businesswoman and aristocr ...

commissioned construction at the site on lands that had originally belonged, among others, to the

Pazzi family The Pazzi were a noble Florentine family. Their main trade during the fifteenth century was banking. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members of the family were banished from Florence and their property was confiscated; the ...

. This palace is separated by an alley from the Renaissance-style

Palazzo Pazzi The Palazzo Pazzi, also known as the Palazzo della Congiura or Palazzo Pazzi-Quaratesi is a Renaissance-style palace. It is located on Via del Proconsolo 10 at the corner with Borgo Albizzi in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. The palace is betwe ...

. The architect Bernardo Buontalenti and his pupil Matteo Nigetti worked on the ground floor (1592-1600), which is characterized by Mannerist touches in the window cartouches and brackets, as well as the side portal. The facade has a heraldic shield of the Strozzi family. The recruitment of the artists Santi di Tito to construct the entrance staircase, prompted the other architects to resign the enterprise. The main entrance on Via Proconsolo was built by Giovanni Battista Caccini, with designs by Vincenzo Scamozzi (1600-1612).

Ludovico Cardi Lodovico Cardi (21 September 1559 – 8 June 1613), also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years ...

helped design the courtyard (1604). After Caccini's death, construction was continued by Negretti, but the palace remained incomplete and thus garnered its name of ''nonfinito''. The palace became property of the Guasti family, and in 1814, it became property of the Government, and was used for offices of the state. During the brief period Florence was the capital of Italy, it served as the home of the Council of State. In 1919, it was made the house of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, founded by

Paolo Mantegazza Paolo Mantegazza (; 31 October 1831 – 28 August 1910) was an Italian neurologist, physiologist, and anthropologist, noted for his experimental investigation of coca leaves into its effects on the human psyche. He was also an author of fictio ...

, and pertaining to the University ''degli Studi di Firenze''. Mantegazza's bust, by Ettore Ximenes is located near the entrance.

Nello Puccioni Nello as a name may refer to: *Nello Carrara (1900–1993), Italian physicist and founder of the Electromagnetic Wave Research Institute *Nello Celio (1914–1995), Swiss politician representing Canton Ticino *Nello Ciaccheri (1893–1971), Italia ...

and Aldobrandino Mochi also contributed to the monument.

Anthropology and Ethnology Section of Museum of Natural History

The museum was founded in 1869 by the anthropologist and collector Paolo Mantegazza. The collection includes objects from the Medici inventories, some donated by explorers to the corners of the world. The eclectic items include

Inca mummies The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

from Peru; kimono from Japan; skull trophies from New Guinea, and other objects. A collection of objects from India were collected by the orientalist Angelo De Gubernatis.Museum official website
.

References

{{Authority control Nonfinito Mannerist architecture Renaissance architecture in Florence Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze