Palazzo Vecchio
Arnolfo di Cambio · Florence, Italy · 1314
Palazzo Vecchio is Florence's fortified civic palace and the dominant element of Piazza della Signoria. Its rusticated stone walls, crenellated parapet and asymmetrically placed Arnolfo tower project the authority of the medieval republic. An internal courtyard and compact original offices were repeatedly transformed as government changed, most dramatically when Giorgio Vasari reorganized and decorated the palace for Duke Cosimo I. The Salone dei Cinquecento expresses the later scale of ducal rule, while the exterior preserves the image of a communal fortress. The date marks completion of the early palace; the building's present interiors and circulation are products of several major renovations.