Sunday, January 11, 2009

Palazzo Vecchio

Taking advantage of the fact that the density of tourists is at a seasonal low, we decided to visit the inside of the Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall of Florence for the past 700 years or so. Like most places in town, there's an abundance of art. Here, the frescoes by Vasari, Ghirlandaio and others stand out. For example, in the mayor's office, there's a fascinating fresco of the siege of Florence which shows the city as it was in 1530, and in the impressive Salone dei Cinquecento, the victories of Florence over surrounding cities are documented. Here, there's also a statue by Michelangelo symbolizing the victory over Siena.
One of the most interesting rooms for me was the map room, where the knowledge of the world in the 16th century was on display. For example, here's the section containing "Spira", "Ogersehem" and "Mens".

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