The Palazzo Tempi, also known as Palazzo Vettori or Bargagli Petrucci, is a palace located along the Arno river at the narrow Piazza Santa Maria Soprarno 1, corner with Via de' Bardi and Costa dei Magnoli in the
Oltrarno
The Oltrarno (''beyond the Arno'') is a quarter of Florence, Italy. It is located south of the River Arno. It contains part of the historic centre of Florence and many notable sites such as the church Santo Spirito di Firenze, Palazzo Pitti, Bel ...
section of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, Italy. The palace is across the river from the Galleria of the Uffizi, and a block east of the
Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", ) is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the Second World War, it is noted for the shops bui ...
. The Via de' Bardi originates in an arch under the building.
History
The ownership of this site and palace is complex, because it changed hands many times since the construction of the palace. The area in front of the palace towards the river, now consisting of the Lungarno Torrigiani, included some houses and the razed ''Santa Maria dei Bardi'', also called ''Santa Maria Sopr'Arno''. This church is recalled by the Piazza on the river side.
The general area prior to the mid 14th-century, belonged to the Bardi di Vernio, but many of the buildings were destroyed or looted during the
Revolt of the Ciompi
The Ciompi Revolt was a rebellion among unrepresented labourers which occurred in the Republic of Florence, from 1378 to 1382.Cohn, Samuel K., Jr. ''Popular Protest in Late Medieval Europe: Italy, France, and Flanders''. Manchester, Manchester UP, ...
in 1343. The house at the site became property of the Medici, who sold it in 1480, to
gonfaloniere
The Gonfalonier (in Italian: ''Gonfaloniere'') was the holder of a highly prestigious communal office in medieval and Renaissance Italy, notably in Florence and the Papal States. The name derives from ''gonfalone'' (in English, gonfalon), the ter ...
Bernardo del Nero. He ended up executed in 1497 by the
Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
's Republic for plotting the return of the Medici. The next owner, Raffaello
Antinori
Marchesi Antinori Srl is an Italian wine company that can trace its history back to 1385. They are one of the biggest wine companies in Italy, and their innovations played a large part in the " Super-Tuscan" revolution of the 1970s.
Antinori is ...
, enlarged the palace to nearly its present size. In 1553 the palace was sold to the Capponi, who sold it in 1591 to the Torrigiani, owners of the nearby Palazzo Torrigiani who quickly sold it to Belisario Vinta, a long-serving administrator for the Medici, from Cosimo I to Cosimo II. Vinta created the facades on the via de Bardi side, including a portal with the bust of Cosimo II (1609).
The design for Vinta's construction has been attributed to the architect
Matteo Nigetti
Matteo Nigetti (ca. 1560/1570 – 1648) was an Italian architect and sculptor. He is an important Baroque architect in Florence.
Biography
Born in Florence, he was the pupil and assistant of Bernardo Buontalenti, with whom he collaborated on ...
. In 1652, the heirs of Vinta sold the palace to Lorenzo di Raffaello de' Medici, who two years later sold it to the Tempi (1654). They utilized the architect Pietro Paolo Giovannozzi to refurbish the lungarno facade. To refurbish the interiors, he commissioned from
Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani
Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani (1660–1731) was an Italian painter of the Baroque era.
Biography
A native of Florence, he was, according to Lanzi, a pupil of Antonio Giusti, but became a follower of the style of Carlo Cignani.Enrico Lusini, for much of the restoration of damages due to war and flooding. Among the remaining frescoes are landscapes of the ''Coast of Magnoli'' in the entry stairwell by
Matteo Bonechi
Matteo Bonechi (8 November 1669 in Florence – 27 February 1756 in Florence) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. He trained under Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani. He also executed works in the church o ...
. Other frescoes by Bonechi decorate certain rooms of the second floor, including depictions of the ''Myth of Prometheus'', the ''Judgement of Paris'', the ''Allegory of the four Seasons'', the ''Bath of Diana'', and an ''Allegory of Florence''. Another room is frescoed with ''Allegories of Vice and Virtue'', by
Ranieri Del Pace
Ranieri Del Pace (Pisa, May 7, 1681 – February 27, 1738), also called Giovanni Batista Ranieri Del Pace, was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period, active mainly in Tuscany.
He trained under Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani. Lanzi descri ...
.
There is a legend, linked to properties in this area including the former church of Santa Maria Sopr'Arno, that resembles that of
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
, in that two lovers, Ippolito and Dianora, from the feuding families of Buondelmonti and Bardi respectively fall in love. The young man attempting to elope with the young woman is arrested. To protect her honor, he confesses to robbery. Yet while Ippolito is being led to execution past Dianora's house, she intercedes, the execution is cancelled, and they live happily ever after.Marietta de' Ricci, ovvero Firenze al tempo dell'assedio Volume 3, page 1149-1150.