The Palazzo Pazzi, also known as the Palazzo della Congiura or Palazzo Pazzi-Quaratesi is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

-style palace. It is located on Via del Proconsolo 10 at the corner with Borgo Albizzi in

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. The palace is between the Palazzo Nonfinito and the Palazzo Pazzi-Ammannati to the north.

History

This palace was commissioned by Jacopo de' Pazzi, and built between 1458–1469 in an area mainly occupied by the Pazzi family, ''Canto Pazzi''. The architect of the palace was

Giuliano da Maiano Giuliano da Maiano (1432–1490) was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker, and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated. Biography He was born in the village of Maiano, near Fiesole, where his fathe ...

, though it has in the past been attributed to Michelozzo di Bartolomeo or Filippo Brunelleschi. The palace was confiscated by the Medici after the failure of the Pazzi Conspiracy (''Congiura di Pazzi''). Jacopo de' Pazzi was executed by mobs after the failed coup. The palace became property of the French family of d'Estonville, then of the Cybo family (1487). Acquired in 1594 by the Strozzi and then the Quaratesi from 1760 to 1843. In 1850, it became the host of judicial courts: the ''Tribunale della Suprema Corte di Cassazione''. When Florence was briefly capital of Italy during 1865–1871, the palace housed the Prussian ambassador Karl George Ludwig von Usedow and his legation. In 1913 the palace was acquired and refurbished by the Banca di Firenze, who commissioned the architects Ezio Cerpi and Adolfo Coppedè (1913–1915). They roofed the courtyard and added ceramic and stained glass decorations by Chino and

Galileo Chini Galileo Chini (2 December 1873 - 23 August 1956) was an Italian decorator, designer, painter, and potter. A prominent member of the Italian Liberty style movement, or Italian Art Nouveau, he taught decorative arts at the Accademia di Belle Arti ...

. In 1931, it was acquired by the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale. Palazzo pazzi, finestra vista da pal

The rusticated stone bricks made of yellow-ochre sandstone ''pietra forte'' on the ground floor give way to pale stucco walls on the second floor (Piano Nobile) with finely decorated

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed windows with rounded arches. In the lunette, above the windows are flowers flanked by billowing sails, the latter in reference to the Pazzi maritime enterprises. At the south corner of Via Proconsolo is a copy of the coat of arms of 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 ...

, the original sculpted by

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...

, which at one time had been hidden. Similar heraldic symbols, two gilded dolphins back to back around a flaming cup, are in the capitals of the courtyard columns. The flaming cup is included in the coat of arms, because tradition held that in 1101 a Pazzi ancestor, Pazzino de' Pazzi, was among the first Christians to scale the walls and lead to the capture of Jerusalem during the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

. In honor of his bravery, he was given three stones or flints (Pietre del Santo Sepolcro) from the Holy Sepulchre. These were putatively used to light the lamps of the tomb when Jesus was buried. The items are now stored in Santi Apostoli and linked to the elaborate ceremony of the ''Lo Scoppio del Carro'' and the lighting of fireworks from the ''Portafuoco''.Firenze Segreta
entry of Pietra del Santo Sepolcro.

Images

File:Palazzo pazzi, cortile 01.JPG, Courtyard File:Palazzo pazzi, stemma pazzi by donatello 02.JPG, Pazzi arms, attributed to

References

{{Coord, 43.7713, 11.2581, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title

Pazzi 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 ...

Renaissance architecture in Florence Pazzi family