Florence - Palazzo dello Strozzino

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vie with the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi on a footing of grandeur, the wealthy merchant Filippo Strozzi planned to build a house for his family that would be outstanding not for its size and splendor but for its meticulous workmanship. The Palazzo Strozzi was built between 1489 and 1538 and is accounted the finest of Florence's Renaissance palaces. In the year it was completed, it was seized by Cosimo I and not returned to the Strozzi family until 1568. Today it houses cultural institutes.

In this building the architects, Benedetto da Maiano and (after his death) Cronaca, or Simone del Pollaiolo, brought together the great achievements of Renaissance architecture, with articulation of classical beauty in the overall and detailed design and consummate craftsmanship in every aspect of the building. The impact of the facade depends on the balanced composition of the storys, the portal, the windows and the cornice, as well as on the art of the stonemason evident in every one of the ashlar blocks, with horizontally-aligned bosses that project progressively less towards the top of the building.

The wrought-iron work (rings in the walls for tethering horses, torch-holders and lanterns on the corners) is from around 1500 and was by Niccolò Grosso, a famous blacksmith who would only accept commissions if he was paid in advance. The elegant inner courtyard by Cronaca is worth seeing. The Galleria Strozzina in the bottom two floors of the building stages occasional art exhibitions of old and new works. There is also a little museum on the ground floor telling the history of the building and including a wooden model of the palazzo by da Maiano.