Description
The Loggia della Signoria, also called the Loggia dei Lanzi, is a Gothic loggia in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, next to Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi. Under its three great arches is a museum without doors, with original masterpieces on view day and night, for free.
It was built between 1376 and 1382 for a very practical reason: the Florentine Republic used it to hold the people's assemblies and official ceremonies under cover. The arches are round, in full Gothic style, and may even have inspired Brunelleschi for the Ospedale degli Innocenti.
On the facade, four panels with the cardinal virtues stand out, designed by Agnolo Gaddi. The name "dei Lanzi" probably comes from the German landsknechts of the guard of Grand Duke Cosimo I, who were quartered here. It was he who turned the loggia into a showcase of his power.
The clearest message is the bronze Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini, 3.20 meters high with its pedestal. The hero holds up the severed head of Medusa, that is, the discord of the old Republic. It has stood here since 1554.
Just as famous is Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women, a marble group from 1583, even more complex than the Perseus. Also by him is Hercules and the Centaur Nessus, with the taut body of the defeated centaur.
Along the back wall stand six Roman female figures, perhaps from Trajan's Forum. One is Thusnelda, the captive wife of the Germanic chief Arminius. Nearby is the Roman group of Patroclus and Menelaus, a gift from Pope Pius V to Cosimo I. On either side of the steps two marble lions keep watch, one Roman and one from 1600.
Casting the Perseus in a single pour seemed impossible, and it was a feat worthy of a novel. Cellini tells of a high fever, a storm that put out the furnace, a fire that nearly broke out. And when the metal seemed not to be enough, he threw all the household dishes into the molten bronze. The analyses, however, have not confirmed this.
On the roof, in 1583, Buontalenti built a terrace from which you could watch the ceremonies in the square, today linked to the Uffizi café. And a plaque recalls that Florence celebrated New Year on March 25 until 1750.
Don't miss
• Cellini's Perseus.
• The Rape of the Sabine Women.
• Hercules and the Centaur Nessus.
• The six Roman statues of women.
Did you know?
• On the back of Perseus's head, well hidden, there is a self-portrait of Cellini.
• In A Room with a View, this is where Lucy faints after witnessing a murder.
• The Feldherrnhalle in Munich is a 19th-century tribute to this loggia.
It was built between 1376 and 1382 for a very practical reason: the Florentine Republic used it to hold the people's assemblies and official ceremonies under cover. The arches are round, in full Gothic style, and may even have inspired Brunelleschi for the Ospedale degli Innocenti.
On the facade, four panels with the cardinal virtues stand out, designed by Agnolo Gaddi. The name "dei Lanzi" probably comes from the German landsknechts of the guard of Grand Duke Cosimo I, who were quartered here. It was he who turned the loggia into a showcase of his power.
The clearest message is the bronze Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini, 3.20 meters high with its pedestal. The hero holds up the severed head of Medusa, that is, the discord of the old Republic. It has stood here since 1554.
Just as famous is Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women, a marble group from 1583, even more complex than the Perseus. Also by him is Hercules and the Centaur Nessus, with the taut body of the defeated centaur.
Along the back wall stand six Roman female figures, perhaps from Trajan's Forum. One is Thusnelda, the captive wife of the Germanic chief Arminius. Nearby is the Roman group of Patroclus and Menelaus, a gift from Pope Pius V to Cosimo I. On either side of the steps two marble lions keep watch, one Roman and one from 1600.
Casting the Perseus in a single pour seemed impossible, and it was a feat worthy of a novel. Cellini tells of a high fever, a storm that put out the furnace, a fire that nearly broke out. And when the metal seemed not to be enough, he threw all the household dishes into the molten bronze. The analyses, however, have not confirmed this.
On the roof, in 1583, Buontalenti built a terrace from which you could watch the ceremonies in the square, today linked to the Uffizi café. And a plaque recalls that Florence celebrated New Year on March 25 until 1750.
Don't miss
• Cellini's Perseus.
• The Rape of the Sabine Women.
• Hercules and the Centaur Nessus.
• The six Roman statues of women.
Did you know?
• On the back of Perseus's head, well hidden, there is a self-portrait of Cellini.
• In A Room with a View, this is where Lucy faints after witnessing a murder.
• The Feldherrnhalle in Munich is a 19th-century tribute to this loggia.