Florence & Tuscany - Italy - page 956

At the southern end of the piazza is the 14th-century Loggia dei Lanzi OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP () , an open-air museum where works such as Giambologna's Rape of
the Sabine Women (c 1583), Benvenuto Cellini's bronze Perseus (1554) and Agnolo
Gaddi's Seven Virtues (1384-89) are displayed. The loggia owes its name to the Lan-
zichenecchi (Swiss bodyguards) of Cosimo I, who were stationed here.

MUSEUM

Palazzo Vecchio
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( 055 276 82 24; www.musefirenze.it ; Piazza della Signoria; museum adult/reduced/child €10/8/free,
tower €6.50, guided tours €2; museum 9am-midnight Fri-Wed, 9am-2pm Thu summer, 9am-7pm Fri-
Wed, 9am-2pm Thu winter; tower 9am-8.30pm Fri-Wed, 9am-1.30pm Thu summer, 10am-4.30pm Fri-Wed,
10am-1.30pm Thu winter) Florence's 'Old Palace' was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio
between 1298 and 1314 for the signoria (highest level of city government). Highlights in-
clude the view from the top of the palazzo 's 94m-high Torre d'Arnolfo , and the decoration
of the Salone dei Cinquecento , a huge room created within the original building in the 1490s
for the Consiglio dei Cinquecento (Council of 500) that ruled Florence during the late
15th century. It's home to Michelangelo's sculpture Genio della Vittoria (Genius of Vict-
ory).
In 1540 Cosimo I made the palace his ducal residence and centre of government, com-
missioning Vasari to renovate and decorate the interior. Not too long after the renovation,
he and his wife Eleonora di Toledo decided that the newly renovated apartments were too
uncomfortable for their large family to live in year-round, and he purchased Palazzo Pitti
as a summer residence. After the death of Eleonora and their sons Giovanni and Garzia
from malaria in 1562, Cosimo moved the rest of his family to Palazzo Pitti permanently.
At this time, the building became known as Palazzo Vecchio. It remains the seat of the
city's power, home to the mayor's office and the municipal council. The best way to dis-
cover this den of political drama and intrigue is by thematic guided tour (book ahead).

Galleria degli Uffizi
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MUSEUM

(Uffizi Gallery; www.uffizi.firenze.it ; Piazzale degli Uffizi 6; adult/reduced €6.50/3.25, incl temporary ex-
hibition €11/5.50; 8.15am-6.05pm Tue-Sun) Housed inside the Palazzo degli Uffizi, built
between 1560 and 1580 as a government office building ( uffizi is the Italian word for of-