Enhance your holiday travel experience by downloading this audio tour of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy.
Great Discoveries Audio Tour of the Palazzo Vecchio will provide you with the best way to tour this striking building located on the Piazza della Signoria. It has been the home of Florentine government since the early 14th century. The palace with its clock tower and ramparts is a symbol of the power, influence, and strength of the family that built it. And make no mistake about it; domination is what this building is all about. Its protruding battlements give it the appearance of a fortress and the 308 foot high clock tower, built flush with these battlements, make it appear even taller and more imposing. It would remain the highest point in the city for hundreds of years to come.
Many changes to the Florentine constitution and its governments necessitated many alterations to the layout of the palace. The most radical was in 1540 when Duke Cosimo I de Medici moved his entourage here from the Palazzo Medici and built a huge extension onto the rear. The Medici remained in residence for only nine years before moving across the Arno River to the Pitti Palace, largely, it seems, at the insistence of Cosimo's Spanish wife, Eleanora of Toledo. They gave the palace to their eldest son Francesco I, at which time it acquired its present name the Palazzo Vecchio, meaning the old palace.
After the move to the Pitti Palace, the palazzo lost its importance as the exclusive seat of the city's political government until 1848 when the Lorraine family, the successors of the Medici, fell from power. At that time, the palace regained some of its earlier stature by becoming the seat of Italy's new provisional government. From 1865 through 1871 Florence was the capital of the new United Kingdom of Italy and this building, where the Chamber of Deputies met, was the nexus of all the countries political happenings. In 1872, the Capital of Italy was moved to Rome and from that time on the building continued its political life as the seat of the Florentine City Government.
Although the palace today contains the offices of Florence's Mayor and City Council, much of it is open to the public including the Hall of the 500, the little Study of Francesco I and two of its three spectacular apartments. The Quarters of Pope Leo X are being used to house Florence's City Council and as reception rooms for the mayor. The Hall of the 200 is being used for City Council meetings and is therefore not always open to the public.
Our carefully researched tour identifies and locates the most relevant art and other treasures to ensure that you do not miss important works and that you clearly understand each items artistic and their historic significance. As you tour the great Hall of the 500, the Apartments of the Elements and the Apartments of Eleanora our professional narrators, accompanied by historically appropriate background music, will delight, amuse and inform you; making your visit a most memorable experience.
Guides are recorded in easy to follow segments that are readily located on your iPod. This 1 hour & 43 minute, 29 track, audio tour is designed to work with an easy to read building diagram, with clearly numbered locations, which coordinate with the track numbers and descriptions displayed on your iPod.
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Enhance your holiday travel experience by downloading this audio tour of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy.
Great Discoveries Audio Tour of the Palazzo Vecchio will provide you with the best way to tour this striking building located on the Piazza della Signoria. It has been the home of Florentine government since the early 14th century. The palace with its clock tower and ramparts is a symbol of the power, influence, and strength of the family that built it. And make no mistake about it; domination is what this building is all about. Its protruding battlements give it the appearance of a fortress and the 308 foot high clock tower, built flush with these battlements, make it appear even taller and more imposing. It would remain the highest point in the city for hundreds of years to come.
Many changes to the Florentine constitution and its governments necessitated many alterations to the layout of the palace. The most radical was in 1540 when Duke Cosimo I de Medici moved his entourage here from the Palazzo Medici and built a huge extension onto the rear. The Medici remained in residence for only nine years before moving across the Arno River to the Pitti Palace, largely, it seems, at the insistence of Cosimo's Spanish wife, Eleanora of Toledo. They gave the palace to their eldest son Francesco I, at which time it acquired its present name the Palazzo Vecchio, meaning the old palace.
After the move to the Pitti Palace, the palazzo lost its importance as the exclusive seat of the city's political government until 1848 when the Lorraine family, the successors of the Medici, fell from power. At that time, the palace regained some of its earlier stature by becoming the seat of Italy's new provisional government. From 1865 through 1871 Florence was the capital of the new United Kingdom of Italy and this building, where the Chamber of Deputies met, was the nexus of all the countries political happenings. In 1872, the Capital of Italy was moved to Rome and from that time on the building continued its political life as the seat of the Florentine City Government.
Although the palace today contains the offices of Florence's Mayor and City Council, much of it is open to the public including the Hall of the 500, the little Study of Francesco I and two of its three spectacular apartments. The Quarters of Pope Leo X are being used to house Florence's City Council and as reception rooms for the mayor. The Hall of the 200 is being used for City Council meetings and is therefore not always open to the public.
Our carefully researched tour identifies and locates the most relevant art and other treasures to ensure that you do not miss important works and that you clearly understand each items artistic and their historic significance. As you tour the great Hall of the 500, the Apartments of the Elements and the Apartments of Eleanora our professional narrators, accompanied by historically appropriate background music, will delight, amuse and inform you; making your visit a most memorable experience.
Guides are recorded in easy to follow segments that are readily located on your iPod. This 1 hour & 43 minute, 29 track, audio tour is designed to work with an easy to read building diagram, with clearly numbered locations, which coordinate with the track numbers and descriptions displayed on your iPod.
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