Chris I.
Yelp
Having visited this magnificent palazzo one year ago to the day, it is long overdue that I lose a few words about what is a key 'must-see'; one of the largest and most important Renaissance palaces in Florence.
As the wealth of the de'Medici family grew, so did their need for a better family house and in 1444, Michelozzo di Bartolommeo (1396-1472) designed this palazzo for 'Cosimo the Elder'. Cosimo, who claimed that envy is a weed that should not be watered, did not want too grand a home for fear of contributing to local hostility and the original commission to Brunelleschi was therefore revoked because the architect's plans were as could be his wont too ornate.
In Michelozzo's design, the exterior was simple,
Photo link: http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd76/Textklick/Qype%20pix/37165189.jpg
yet the interior luxurious enough to befit guests who included the likes of Charles V of France.
The Medici family resided there until Cosimo I, the first grand duke of Tuscany, moved to the Palazzo Vecchio in 1537 (later the family moved to the larger, grandiose Pitti Palace see also review of the Vasari Corridor).
In 1659, the palazzo was acquired by the Riccardi family who altered and enlarged it, almost doubling the length of the facade. In 1814, it was then sold to the royal family Lorena that relegated it to administrative offices until in 1871 it changed hands again and is now owned by the City of Florence that still uses it for administrative purposes. The palace now houses temporary exhibitions.
It was Cosimo's eldest son, Piero, who ordered the construction of the private chapel for which this building is most famous the Cappella dei Magi which is reached via the elegant seventeenth-century staircase. The chapel, built and decorated in the fifteenth century, features a harmonious decoration of enchanting beauty and is a small, romantic and intimate place of striking beauty with its remarkable frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. Gozzoli (c. 1421 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter and a pupil of Fra Angelico and his frescoes more famous even than the artist himself constitute one of the most eminent illustrations of Medici Florence. As 'Fathers of the Renaissance', the de'Medici had a penchant for encouraging their protégés to include Medici family portraits in their work and it is said that the family 'enjoyed a good turnout' in this piece, which is just a part of the full work.
Photo link: http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd76/Textklick/Medici-Procession-BR700.jpg
In pristine condition, it is a stunningly beautiful piece of art.
Since 1972, the exhibition area of Palazzo Medici Riccardi has offered both tourists and visitors a programme of temporary exhibitions dedicated to the major protagonists of modern and contemporary art. For several years now, instead, the exhibition policy has been oriented to stimulating in the public a greater understanding of the historic and artistic context, consequently proposing exhibitions which are consistent with the Renaissance and Baroque identity of the palazzo.
Palazzo Medici Riccardi now offers the visitor the chance to retrace over four centuries of the history of art and architecture in Florence. The itinerary starts on the ground floor, the fulcrum of which is Michelozzo's fifteenth-century courtyard,
Photo link: http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd76/Textklick/2009_1227Garden0009.jpg
one of the most suggestive sites of Renaissance Florence.
Another important pole of attraction of the museum of Palazzo Medici Riccardi is the magnificent Galleria, created at the end of the seventeenth century and again located on the first floor, in the area overlooking the garden. Here the visitor is immersed in the triumphal and variegated pomp of late Baroque art, dominated by the lively and spectacular tumult of the ceiling fresco by Luca Giordano. Finally, an integral part of the palazzo and its display circuit are the Biblioteche Moreniana and Riccardiana, located in splendidly decorated premises, with access from Via Ginori. Laboratorio di Lorenzo, the new multimedia consultation room in Palazzo Medici Riccardi, is located in what was once the chamber of Lorenzo il Magnifico and is based on a new and stimulating use of technology. Such technology is not expected to replace the approach to the original work of art, but to help the visitors to understand it, enabling them to obtain an overview of the sites and monuments, and their contents in terms of history, dynastic evidence, sacred and secular symbolism and artistic and cultural values. It houses two "PointAt" systems which provide information and enable examination of Benozzo Gozzoli's fresco cycle in the Chapel of the Magi. The visitor stands and points imperiously doubtless in the manner of Lorenzo il Magnifico ;-) to see information and enable examination of Benozzo Gozzoli's fresco cycle in the Chapel of the Magi. You can select your language and zoom in to various sections.