Palazzo Davanzati

Palazzo Davanzati is a palace in Florence, Italy. It houses the Museum of the Old Florentine House.

Palazzo Davanzati was erected in the second half of the 14th century by the Davizzi family, who were wealthy members of the wool guild. In 1516 it was sold to the Bartolini; in 1578 it was bought by the Davanzati family, who were also rich merchants, in whose possession it remained until 1838. After the suicide of Carlo Davanzati, it was split into different quarters and modified. After escaping the numerous demolitions of 19th century Florence, it was bought by Elia Volpi, an antiquarian, who restored it in (his impression of) the original style.

In 1910, Volpi opened the building as a private museum (Museo Privato della Casa Fiorentina Antica). The contents of this museum kept changing as Volpi sold the furniture at auctions, including a major one in 1916 in New York. In the 1920s, Egyptian antique dealers Vitale and Leopoldo Bengujat acquired the building and its contents. In 1951 it was purchased by the Italian state and kept open as a museum. By 1995 the museum needed to be closed for major structural restorations; the museum was partially reopened in 2005 with the ground floor and first floor accessible; by 2012, all the floors were again open to visitors.

The palace consists of a façade that unifies a grouping of earlier, medieval tower homes that the owner purchased with the intent to put them together. It is constructed in sandstone, with three large portals on the horizontal axis, and three stories of mullioned windows. The top-most floor has a loggia that was added in the 16th century and which is supported by four columns and two pilasters. The façade displays the Davanzati coat of arms and has traces of other decorations.

The interior courtyard has 14th century-style arches, vaults, and capitals.

Entered through one of three large portals. This large room was used to conduct business. Presently it used to display objects and information related to the history of the building.

All rooms of the building communicate onto hallways that open onto this central courtyard.

This large room was also used for conducting business. Its large windows are located street-side.

Text adapted from “Palazzo Davanzati” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Palazzo Davanzati ranks #1,602 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #122 of the 452 mapped in Italy. Founded 1400, it is older than 52% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 582 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,551 times in the last 60 days, more than 72% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 11,000 visitors in 2022. 15 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Florence, 1 km away. It is one of the 32 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Tuscany. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗