Palazzo Vecchio is located in Piazza della Signoria in Florence and is the seat of the Municipality. It represents the best synthesis of the fourteenth-century civil architecture of the city and is one of the most famous civic buildings in the world.
Originally called "Palazzo dei Priori", in the 15th century it became "Palazzo della Signoria", named after the main organism of the Republic of Florence; in 1540 it became a Doge's Palace, when Duke Cosimo I de 'Medici made it his residence; finally the name Old took it after 1565 when the court of Duke Cosimo moved into the "new" Palazzo Pitti.
From 1865 to 1871 it was the seat of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, while today it houses the Mayor of Florence and various municipal offices. There is also a museum, which allows you to visit the magnificent rooms where they worked, among others, Agnolo Bronzino, Ghirlandaio, Giorgio Vasari, and where they are exhibited works by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Donatello, Verrocchio.
The building has gradually enlarged to the east, reaching a whole block and extending the initial fourteenth-century parallelepiped to a quadruple of its dimensions, with a plan that recalls a trapeze whose façade is only the shorter side. On the main rusticated facade, the Tower of Arnolfo is one of the emblems of the city.