File:Florence and her treasures (1911) (14762991311).jpg

Identifier: florencehertreas00vaug (find matches)
Title: Florence and her treasures
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: Vaughan, Herbert M. (Herbert Millingchamp), 1870-1948
Subjects: Art
Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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ociated with the magnificence, thelearning, the patronage of art, and the festivities ofCosimo il Vecchio, of his grandson Lorenzo il Magnifico,and of his great-grandson Pope Leo X. The presentpalace was erected by Michelozzo for Cosimo il Vecchioin 1430, but the original structure was far smaller thanthe huge massive building that now meets the eye in ViaCavour, for the Riccardi, to whom the palace was subse-quently sold, added largely to the old Medicean mansion,although their additions were made in harmony withMichelozzos architecture. From 1430 till the murderof Duke Alessandro in 1537 the Medici inhabited thispalace, with the exception of the intervals of their en-forced exile between the years 1494 and 1512, and againbetween 1527 and 1530. Cosimo I preferred to dwell inthe Palazzo Vecchio and later in the Palazzo Pitti, but theold cradle of the Medicean family was not abandonedfinally till 1659, when Ferdinando II sold it to theMarchese Riccardi. In 1715 the palace was enlarged,
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THE PROCESSION OF THE MA(,I lrom the fresco by henozzo Gozzoli i;i the Chapel of the Palazzo Kit cardV p. 266 PALAZZO RICCARDI 267 and the key, the armorial emblem of the Riccardi family,is conspicuous throughout the newer portions of thebuilding. The basement is composed of great blocks ofrough stone, and the windows of the two upper storeyshave elegant Gothic windows with marble columns, inthe arches of which are to be seen the usual Mediceanemblems of the diamond ring and the plumes. Thefine cornice is also by Michelozzo. The palace is saidto possess the earliest examples known of the kneelingwindows (inginocchiate), which are popularly believedto have been an ingenious invention of Michelangelo,for the convenience of persons watching from the case-ment. The courtyard is entered by a lofty archwayfacing the Via Cavour, and contains fine medallions withreliefs by Donatello, some antique busts, and some earlysarcophagi, which are said to have been removed fromthe ancient Baptistery h

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