Palazzo Antinori 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 ...

palace located at the north end of

Via de' Tornabuoni Via de' Tornabuoni, or Via Tornabuoni, is a street at the center of Florence, Italy, that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita, across Santa Trinita square, distinguished by the presence of fashion boutiques. The street houses high ...

, where it makes an odd corner with Via dei Pecori, Via del Trebbio, and converts into Via dei Rondinelli, 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.

History

The palace was built in 1461-1469, perhaps under the design of

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 ...

, commissioned by Giovanni di Bono Boni. The unfinished palace was sold in 1475 to the Martelli family; in 1506, they sold it to Nicolò Antinori, who commissioned several modification (rear façade) and embellishments (internal garden), perhaps to Baccio d'Agnolo. From the 1920s to 1965 (with gap for the war), the palace housed the

British Institute of Florence The British Institute of Florence is a cultural institute founded in 1917 in Florence, Italy, with the aim of promoting Anglo-Italian cultural relations, teaching English and Italian languages, and running a library of English books to illustrate B ...

. The edifice is still property of the Antinori family, and two top floors are still occupied by a member of the family.Antinori family website

Description

Palazzo Antinori has a rectangular plan and was partially inspired by Palazzo Medici. The interior has a Renaissance portico on three sides, with round arches,

cross vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...

s and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

(

pietra serena Pietra serena is a blue-gray sandstone used extensively in Renaissance Florence for architectural details. It is also known as Macigno stone. The material obtained at Fiesole is considered the best and is also quarried at Arezzo, Cortona, and Volt ...

) columns with sculpted capitals. The pivots of the vaults have similar decorations. On a wall is 18th-century-style niche with a fountain with a statue of Venus and sponge-like rocks. The garden is accessed through an internal gate which is similar to that in Palazzo Bartolini-Salimbeni, which led to the attribution of the 16th-century renovations to Baccio d'Agnolo.

References

Sources

* {{Coord, 43, 46, 22.14, N, 11, 15, 4.06, E, type:landmark, display=title Antinori Renaissance architecture in Florence Buildings and structures completed in 1469 Houses completed in the 15th century 1469 establishments in Europe 15th-century establishments in the Republic of Florence