Visit to the symbolic places of Cosimo I ° de' Medici (outside)

THE ICONS OF PERSONAL POWER OF THE FIRST GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY

Outdoor itinerary. This itinerary will lead us to discover the places that for art, history and legends lead us back to the character of Cosimo I ° who from 1537 to 1574 was the guide of Florence and the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. To Cosimo I ° we owe the first reforms which, with Pietro Leopoldo di Lorena then, will transform Tuscany from an extremely fragmented and divided geographical entity, into a modern and avant-garde state; epochal reforms and farsightedness of a character that leaves a legacy still very tangible in the contemporary era. The route takes place along the North-South axis, along an imaginary axis that connects over time the two branches of the Medici family and the commissions that testify to their power in the city first and then in Tuscany.

PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA AND LOGGIA DEI LANZI: A MUSEUM FOR THE CITY

Since 1200 it has been the center of the political and civil power of the city and its history has always been linked to the Palazzo dei Priori (della Signora) built starting from 1299 on a project by Arnolfo di Cambio; he also designed the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and Santa Croce. The square is a true open-air museum where the beautiful pre-Renaissance architecture of the Loggia dei Lanzi is located, used by Cosimo I ° as a workshop for artists. Among the sculptures exhibited here, Perseus bronze stands out, executed with extreme skill by Benvenuto Cellini; clear political message from the first Grand Duke of TuscanyMany others are the symbols of the power and ambitions of Cosimo I ° that can be seen in the square and which after 500 years "still speak" of a glorious time, rich in art, culture and scientific discoveries.