Palace Vecchio Florence

The “Palazzo Vecchio” was once the home of the various Florentine republican governments, and today is home to the municipality government. It was built between 1299 and 1310 by Arnolfo di Cambio, who was the master builder of the city. His visions were successful in incorporating the graceful with the solid in the fortress-like town hall. Its bell/clock tower is also one of Florence’s famous landmarks. The Palazzo’s rooms were frescoed by such artists as Giorgio Vasari, Ghirlandaio and Bronzino. Giorgio Vasari contributed extensively in the mid 1500s and the Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the Five Hundred) depicts the grandiose expression of Medici power in the 1560s. One of the palace’s greatest treasures stands now in the Sala dei Gigli (Hall of Lilies), which is Donatello's bronze masterpiece Judith and Holofernes - one of his most sophisticated works created around 1460.