Cosimo I and Francesco I Build a Palace
While the original purchase of Palazzo Pitti was Eleonora’s idea, Cosimo I quickly saw the possibilities that such a property might offer. When he had begun his reign, he was clearly a vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and he had maintained his residence and seat of government in Palazzo Vecchio, the indelible symbol of the “old” government. But after twenty years, things had begun to change. The Duke of Florence was anxious to impress all of Europe with the fact that he was the sovereign of an independent state. The Peace of Cateau-Cembrésis (1559), establishing the clear superiority of Spain over France in Italy, gave him an opportunity to achieve his ambitious objectives.
This was the moment when Cosimo I began to consider the idea of transferring his residence and government to Palazzo Pitti. This palace contained potentially all the physical characteristics he required. It was of a sufficiently large and formal scale, and it was situated in an emerging part of the urban fabric. The ample space on three sides provided an opportunity to expand, transforming the surrounding property into splendid gardens appropriate to a noble, Roman residence.
The project was not, however, simple, and it did not move forward quickly. Giorgio Vasari had already begun a large nursery in a section of the gardens to the north of the palace where Buontalenti would later design and build his Great Grotto. But Vasari quickly disappeared from the scene at the Pitti for reasons that we do not know for certain. We can imagine, however, that Bartolomeo Ammannati, who began work on the new palace on 26 July 1561, may have been following Vasari’s original conception.
Ammannati’s project gave real form to the grand idea of a new ducal palace. His new design for the complex along a new east-west axis provided an aesthetic character to the project that is still surprising and fascinating even today. Cosimo, who was little inclined to spend money, actually supported the project throughout.
This was the moment when Cosimo I began to consider the idea of transferring his residence and government to Palazzo Pitti. This palace contained potentially all the physical characteristics he required. It was of a sufficiently large and formal scale, and it was situated in an emerging part of the urban fabric. The ample space on three sides provided an opportunity to expand, transforming the surrounding property into splendid gardens appropriate to a noble, Roman residence.
The project was not, however, simple, and it did not move forward quickly. Giorgio Vasari had already begun a large nursery in a section of the gardens to the north of the palace where Buontalenti would later design and build his Great Grotto. But Vasari quickly disappeared from the scene at the Pitti for reasons that we do not know for certain. We can imagine, however, that Bartolomeo Ammannati, who began work on the new palace on 26 July 1561, may have been following Vasari’s original conception.
Ammannati’s project gave real form to the grand idea of a new ducal palace. His new design for the complex along a new east-west axis provided an aesthetic character to the project that is still surprising and fascinating even today. Cosimo, who was little inclined to spend money, actually supported the project throughout.
Ammannati’s plan demonstrated great respect and sensibility for Brunelleschi’s original design. The compositional theme of the façade, vibrant though realized with extremely simple expressive means, is strongly ‘classical’, not because of its use of architectonic orders, but because of the series of arches that are dominated by a strong sense of proportion. Ammannati interfered with Brunelleschi’s original design for the façade only with respect to the creation of two “kneeling windows”, where two entrance portals had originally been.
It was, however, on the east side of the palace facing toward the gardens that Ammannati made his greatest changes. He created two wings, one on each end of the original central portion of the house, extending the palace into the garden and serving to enclose a new central courtyard. At the same time he enlarged the original section by adding loggias on the garden side. These changes dramatically altered the orientation of the palace, turning its attention much more toward the Boboli Garden. The loggias on the piano nobile and the second floor were eventually enclosed with the addition of windows.
While the excavations for the “banda degli allori” (Stand of Laurel), as the northern wing was called, continued, work was completed on some of the existing rooms in the central section. Alfonso di Santi Parigi’s notebook of 1566 shows the original fifteenth century part of the palace remaining essentially intact. In reality, however, within a few years of the beginning of the work, the area was completely changed. On the ground floor a new room was realized on the left of the central salon, while two staircases were added along the east walls of the rooms at the ends of the fifteenth century palace. These staircases, listed in the working documents as the “scalette segrete” (secret staircases), gave access to mezzanines realized in the four lateral areas of the ground floor. They were laid out at the height of the corbels of the original vaults.
By 1563 the loggia on the ground floor of the north wing was finished, a powerful sequence of arches, each crowned with a capstone decorated with the head of a Capricorn, Cosimo’s astrological symbol. Though the overall size of the courtyard was now determined, it took another five years before this wing could be considered completed.
In 1562 Eleonora, along with two of her sons, died suddenly of malaria while in Pisa, deaths that took their toll on Cosimo, but work on the palace continued in earnest. About that time Cosimo turned over to his eldest son, Francesco, more and more of his governmental responsibilities. In July 1568 he gave the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens to Francesco, though the gift was probably merely a legal formality. Cosimo often stayed in the palace during his brief visits to Florence from his villas in the country.
In 1565 the ground area and the mezzanines on the south of the palace, now connected to the “old” house, provided quarters for Cosimo's second son, Ferdinando, then a cardinal. The areas on the north side were originally intended as quarters for important guests like the emissaries that Alfonso d’Este sent to Florence for the marriage of his son to Lucrezia, Cosimo's daughter. Among the more interesting rooms executed by Ammannati in the fifteenth century part of the palace was the Sala dei Nicchie, the central room on the piano nobile and considered the most important part of the palace. Between 1561 and 1562 the architect made the room very colorful, decorating it with ten niches made of black marble, each containing an ancient statue brought to Florence from the Villa Medici in Rome. The walls were covered in panels of red damask set between blue satin and gold linen. The contrasting colors and the numerous ancient statues undoubtedly created a spectacular and solemn effect. Today the room contains only six niches, and the wall areas are all of a single color. The effect today is much less splendid.
At this stage the number of workers assigned to the Pitti was enlarged. While the actual number varied week by week, in the spring and summer of 1565 there were a maximum of 25 masons, 26 stonemasons, and 58 general laborers. There had never been more activity at the Pitti. In that same year Giorgio Vasari managed the construction of his corridor (Corridorio Vasariano), running from the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio all the way over the Ponte Vecchio until it almost reached Palazzo Pitti itself. The corridor, completed in only five months, was finished in time for the marriage of Francesco I to his Austrian wife, Joanna of Austria, on 18 December 1565. At the time Francesco was twenty-four years old.
In 1566, because of the major work required for the construction of the Ponte Santa Trinita, Bartolomeo Ammannati asked his grandson Alfonso di Santi Parigi to assist him at the Pitti.
In 1568 the Reliquary Chapel was virtually completed. Over the years it was often referred to as the Chapel of the Grand Duchess, but it was, in fact, the principal chapel for the entire palace during the entire Medicean period. Near the chapel, toward the garden, Ammannati constructed a large elliptical staircase ("scala aovata") connecting all the floors of this part of the palace. This staircase was destroyed in the nineteenth century during Pasquale Poccianti’s reconstruction. Until the completion of the south wing of the palace, this was the principal staircase available to residents and visitors alike.
In 1569 Francesco I, now twenty-eight years old and married for four years, took over parts of the new palace. He occupied four rooms on the ground floor facing the courtyard. These were referred to as the “Winter Apartment.” This important apartment served as a place to receive guests and dignitaries. It was decorated with rich red tapestries, charged with tassels of gold, as is testified to in numerous portraits in the Uffizi. This apartment was certainly one of the most beautiful and spacious of any of those so far completed. It faced out onto a small courtyard with a fountain, walled in by the palace and a small building used as a handball court. Climbing the “scala aovata” (Ammannati's elliptical staircase), the duke would arrive in the large room today called the Hercules' Room. From here he had access to twelve rooms today unrecognizable after the reconstruction of the nineteenth century. Some of these rooms had very specific uses. One room, called the Stove Room (Sala della Stufa), served as the grand duke's bath. On 2 March 1569 we know that 150 pans of boiling water were prepared by the “stovigliaio” (or bathroom attendant) for the sum of 2 scudi.
In 1565 the ground area and the mezzanines on the south of the palace, now connected to the “old” house, provided quarters for Cosimo's second son, Ferdinando, then a cardinal. The areas on the north side were originally intended as quarters for important guests like the emissaries that Alfonso d’Este sent to Florence for the marriage of his son to Lucrezia, Cosimo's daughter. Among the more interesting rooms executed by Ammannati in the fifteenth century part of the palace was the Sala dei Nicchie, the central room on the piano nobile and considered the most important part of the palace. Between 1561 and 1562 the architect made the room very colorful, decorating it with ten niches made of black marble, each containing an ancient statue brought to Florence from the Villa Medici in Rome. The walls were covered in panels of red damask set between blue satin and gold linen. The contrasting colors and the numerous ancient statues undoubtedly created a spectacular and solemn effect. Today the room contains only six niches, and the wall areas are all of a single color. The effect today is much less splendid.
At this stage the number of workers assigned to the Pitti was enlarged. While the actual number varied week by week, in the spring and summer of 1565 there were a maximum of 25 masons, 26 stonemasons, and 58 general laborers. There had never been more activity at the Pitti. In that same year Giorgio Vasari managed the construction of his corridor (Corridorio Vasariano), running from the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio all the way over the Ponte Vecchio until it almost reached Palazzo Pitti itself. The corridor, completed in only five months, was finished in time for the marriage of Francesco I to his Austrian wife, Joanna of Austria, on 18 December 1565. At the time Francesco was twenty-four years old.
In 1566, because of the major work required for the construction of the Ponte Santa Trinita, Bartolomeo Ammannati asked his grandson Alfonso di Santi Parigi to assist him at the Pitti.
In 1568 the Reliquary Chapel was virtually completed. Over the years it was often referred to as the Chapel of the Grand Duchess, but it was, in fact, the principal chapel for the entire palace during the entire Medicean period. Near the chapel, toward the garden, Ammannati constructed a large elliptical staircase ("scala aovata") connecting all the floors of this part of the palace. This staircase was destroyed in the nineteenth century during Pasquale Poccianti’s reconstruction. Until the completion of the south wing of the palace, this was the principal staircase available to residents and visitors alike.
In 1569 Francesco I, now twenty-eight years old and married for four years, took over parts of the new palace. He occupied four rooms on the ground floor facing the courtyard. These were referred to as the “Winter Apartment.” This important apartment served as a place to receive guests and dignitaries. It was decorated with rich red tapestries, charged with tassels of gold, as is testified to in numerous portraits in the Uffizi. This apartment was certainly one of the most beautiful and spacious of any of those so far completed. It faced out onto a small courtyard with a fountain, walled in by the palace and a small building used as a handball court. Climbing the “scala aovata” (Ammannati's elliptical staircase), the duke would arrive in the large room today called the Hercules' Room. From here he had access to twelve rooms today unrecognizable after the reconstruction of the nineteenth century. Some of these rooms had very specific uses. One room, called the Stove Room (Sala della Stufa), served as the grand duke's bath. On 2 March 1569 we know that 150 pans of boiling water were prepared by the “stovigliaio” (or bathroom attendant) for the sum of 2 scudi.
Some other areas in the palace were also inhabited during the work. There was a room on the ground floor near the staircase that housed a fountain. Other rooms along the courtyard were dressed in rich coverings of leather and were decorated with rich furnishings. Francesco I used these rooms together with parts of the piano nobile when he became grand duke. He also made use of the mezzanines. These were used as bedrooms and even as a kitchen for the grand duke, while a kitchen for the rest of the court was located on the other side of the palace. Even so, the palace was not a permanent residence for the grand duke and his family. Francesco I always considered his proper home to be Palazzo Vecchio. Until the reign of Ferdinando I, Francesco's younger brother and successor, the Pitti acted solely as a place to receive and entertain illustrious guests.
In February 1570 Pope Pio V invested Cosimo I with the title of Grand Duke, though the title could not be considered legitimate since only the emperor had the prerogative to bestow such a title. In any case, it marked the apex of Cosimo’s political career. When Cosimo returned to Florence on 9 March of the same year, he married Camilla Martelli. Their visits to the Pitti were brief, alternating with visits to Pisa and the Villa Castello, but it was at the Pitti that Cosimo spent the last days of his life. On 21 April 1574 Cosimo died, and the palace was redecorated for his funeral. The loggias in the courtyard, only just completed, were covered in black as were all the palace rooms. Cosimo’s coffin was exposed in the Sala dei Nicchie, where the colorful walls were covered completely in black. The coffin rested under a grand baldachin made of gold. But there was still much more work to be done.
In February 1570 Pope Pio V invested Cosimo I with the title of Grand Duke, though the title could not be considered legitimate since only the emperor had the prerogative to bestow such a title. In any case, it marked the apex of Cosimo’s political career. When Cosimo returned to Florence on 9 March of the same year, he married Camilla Martelli. Their visits to the Pitti were brief, alternating with visits to Pisa and the Villa Castello, but it was at the Pitti that Cosimo spent the last days of his life. On 21 April 1574 Cosimo died, and the palace was redecorated for his funeral. The loggias in the courtyard, only just completed, were covered in black as were all the palace rooms. Cosimo’s coffin was exposed in the Sala dei Nicchie, where the colorful walls were covered completely in black. The coffin rested under a grand baldachin made of gold. But there was still much more work to be done.
Between 1567 and 1568, Cosimo bought the farms belonging to the Ridolfi, Del Garbo, Mannelli, Banducci, Benozzi, and Castrucci, that is to say, all the remaining land between the fourteenth century wall, the new bastions, and the backs of the houses facing onto via Romana, thus completing another “banda” (stand), called “dei Lecci” (of holly), matching the “banda degli allori” (stand of laurel) on the northern side.
1576 saw the completion of this phase of Palazzo Pitti’s construction, two years after the death of Cosimo I. It also marked another very significant event: Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian II granted to Francesco I the title of Grand Duke and made Tuscany an independent state. Thus, the new palace could properly assume the role that Cosimo I had always intended for it.
Marco Chiarini ed., Palazzo Pitti: l'arte e la storia; Nardini Editore, Florence, 2000-2003.
1576 saw the completion of this phase of Palazzo Pitti’s construction, two years after the death of Cosimo I. It also marked another very significant event: Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian II granted to Francesco I the title of Grand Duke and made Tuscany an independent state. Thus, the new palace could properly assume the role that Cosimo I had always intended for it.
Marco Chiarini ed., Palazzo Pitti: l'arte e la storia; Nardini Editore, Florence, 2000-2003.
See also:
Laura Baldini, Fiorella Facchinetti; Documento sulle prime fasi costruttive di Palazzo Pitti: Nuovi contributi di ricerca archivistica per una definizione più esatta delle vicende cronologiche dell'edifico"; Filippo Brunelleschi, 2; 1980, pp. 703-731.
Laura Baldini, "Una 'Casa da Granduca' sulla collina di Boboli"; Antichità vive, 1980, pp. 37-46.
Cosimo Conti; Il Palazzo Pitti : la sua primitiva costruzione e successivi ingrandimenti ; lettura fatta alla Società Colombaria nell'adunanza del di 6 marzo 1887; Firenze, 1887.
Laura Baldini, Fiorella Facchinetti; Documento sulle prime fasi costruttive di Palazzo Pitti: Nuovi contributi di ricerca archivistica per una definizione più esatta delle vicende cronologiche dell'edifico"; Filippo Brunelleschi, 2; 1980, pp. 703-731.
Laura Baldini, "Una 'Casa da Granduca' sulla collina di Boboli"; Antichità vive, 1980, pp. 37-46.
Cosimo Conti; Il Palazzo Pitti : la sua primitiva costruzione e successivi ingrandimenti ; lettura fatta alla Società Colombaria nell'adunanza del di 6 marzo 1887; Firenze, 1887.