Palazzo Strozzi: The Rival's Palace
Why is it significant?
Now the giant. Palazzo Strozzi is a freestanding cube of cushion-like rusticated stone, bigger than the Medici palace you started from, with wrought-iron lanterns and rings bolted to its corners. It was meant to impress, and it was meant to be noticed.
Key Facts
| Place | Palazzo Strozzi: The Rival's Palace |
|---|---|
| Address | Piazza degli Strozzi, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy |
| Geo Coordinates | 43.77130, 11.25200 |
| Part of Walk | The Medici Quarter of Florence: Palaces, Tombs and Rivals from San Lorenzo to Santa Maria Novella |
| Generated | Generated |
Now the giant. Palazzo Strozzi is a freestanding cube of cushion-like rusticated stone, bigger than the Medici palace you started from, with wrought-iron lanterns and rings bolted to its corners. It was meant to impress, and it was meant to be noticed.
The Strozzi were among the richest families in Florence, and the Medici's rivals. When Cosimo returned to power in 1434, Palla Strozzi was exiled for good, and other members of the family followed him out of the city. One exile, Filippo Strozzi, made a fortune as a banker in Naples, was allowed back in 1466, and spent years quietly buying up the houses on this site.
The story goes that Filippo pretended to want something modest, even with shops on the ground floor, and let Lorenzo de' Medici talk him into building something grander. Whether or not that is true, building began in 1489, to a design by Benedetto da Maiano, with the great cornice by Simone del Pollaiolo, called Cronaca. Filippo died in 1491 and never saw it finished. The ironwork is by a smith nicknamed Caparra, the deposit, because, according to Vasari, he demanded payment in advance from everyone, however powerful.
The rivalry ended in blood. Filippo's son, also called Filippo, married a Medici, then turned against the Medici dukes. In 1537 he was captured leading exiles against Cosimo I at the battle of Montemurlo, and in 1538 he was found dead in his prison cell, possibly by his own hand. Legend says he left a line from Virgil calling for an avenger to rise from his bones.
Today the palace belongs to everyone: it hosts major art exhibitions, and its courtyard is open to passers-by. Walk through it if you can, then continue south down Via de' Tornabuoni to the square with a tall column in its centre.