Altoviti Palace or Visacci Palace

The Palazzo dei Visacci, also known as Palazzo Valori-Altoviti, is a historic building located in Borgo degli Albizi in Florence, characterized by a unique facade decorated with busts of illustrious men from Florentine history. Its construction dates back to the 15th century, but the palace took its current form in the 16th century thanks to Baccio Valori the Younger, who expanded the structure and commissioned the decoration of the facade with fifteen herms depicting eminent figures of Florentine culture, including Dante Alighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, and Amerigo Vespucci. This choice reflected the erudite and humanistic taste of Valori, who wanted to celebrate Florence’s great intellectual tradition. The palace was originally formed by the merger of various medieval houses, including the residence of Rinaldo degli Albizi. After the exile of the Albizi family, the palace passed to the Valori family. During the period of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the palace was at risk of being confiscated due to Baccio Valori’s participation in the battle of Montemurlo against the Medicis, but it was spared because the property had ended up in dowry to a Valori married to an Alessandri. The current appearance of the facade was given at the end of the 16th century, when Baccio Valori the Younger, who had become a senator under Ferdinando I de’ Medici, commissioned the architect and sculptor Giovanni Battista Caccini to redesign it. Caccini created an iconographic program, with the intention of exalting the Florentine figures who had contributed to the arts and sciences. The facade features five busts on the lower floors, each accompanied by an inscription briefly describing their merits: Accursio, a jurist from 1227; Pietro Torrigiano, a monk and glossator from 1290; Marsilio Ficino, a philosopher from 1480; Donato Acciaiuoli, a mathematician from 1470; and Piero Vettori, a philosopher from 1560. On the upper floors, there are other illustrious figures, including Giovanni Boccaccio, Francesco Petrarca, and Luigi Alamanni. The nickname “Palazzo dei Visacci” derives from the austere and severe faces of the busts adorning the facade, which, although not always executed with great skill, give the palace an imposing and solemn appearance. Above the main entrance is a bust of Cosimo I de’ Medici, also a work by Caccini, which testifies to the connection between the Valori family and the Medici house. Inside, the palace features a series of Baroque decorations added in the 18th century by the Guicciardini family, who inherited it in 1687. These interventions include the Covered Gallery, decorated with stuccoes and frescoes celebrating the apotheosis of the Guicciardini family. The stuccoes were made by Giovanni Martino Portogalli, while the painted figures are the work of Matteo Bonechi. Other artists involved were Giuseppe Tonelli and Stefano Papi, who contributed with the quadratures. The Palazzo dei Visacci has had various uses over time. In the 20th century, it became the headquarters of the Florentine Freemasonry of the Grand Orient of Italy, which has occupied the noble floor since 1978. The facade was restored in 1936 and again in 1989-1990, while the Gallery was restored between 1987 and 1988. A significant element of the palace is the plaque on the facade commemorating a miracle attributed to San Zanobi, who allegedly resurrected a child in that very place in the 4th century. This episode, celebrated in numerous works of art, emphasizes the religious and historical importance of the site.