Medici-Riccardi's Palace

It was ordered by Cosimo il Vecchio to Michelozzo, who began its realization in 1444. The Palazzo was Medici's residence for more than a century till the transfer of the Court to Palazzo Vecchio. In 1469 it was bought by the Riccardi, who placed the antiques in the courtyard and entrusted Luca Giordano with the task of painting the bright second-floor gallery.

In the same area are the Moreniana and the Riccardiana libraries; the latter is magnificently decorated and full of books and manuscripts. The building was later passed to the Lorena and more recently to the provincial government.

Numerous decorations were realized in the course of time inside the Palazzo, first of all the Cappella dei Magi by Gozzoli (who had Beato Angelico as his master). Realized in 1459 it became the private chapel of the family. On the three main walls you can admire the Cavalcata dei Magi (Magi's Ride): on the pretext of the religious subject a series of personalities (members of the family and politicians) are portrayed.

Among the figures we can recognize Lorenzo il Magnifico as a young man, his father Piero il Gottoso and the progenitor Cosimo il Vecchio. Over the altar we can admire a late fifteenth-century copy of the Natività by Filippo Lippi (the original is in Berlin). The Palazzo was finished in 1462. At present the Palazzo holds the Prefecture and the Museo Mediceo, where temporary exhibitions take place.