Palazzo Acciaiuoli, Renaissance palazzo in historic center, Florence, Italy
Palazzo Acciaiuoli is a Renaissance mansion in the historic center of Florence, located near Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli, which connects Ponte Vecchio and Ponte Santa Trinita along the Arno River. The building spans three stories and sits at Borgo Santi Apostoli 10, near the Santissimi Apostoli Church.
The tower was built by the Buondelmonti around 1280 and incorporated into his palace by Niccolò Acciaiuoli in 1341; he was Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples, not Prime Minister of Florence. At the end of the 16th century the property passed to the Usimbardi family of Colle di Val d'Elsa. The tower was restored in 1864 and again in 1920 under architect Ugo Giusti, giving it its present medieval appearance.
The facade bears the Carthusian coat of arms of Niccolò Acciaiuoli: two lions holding fleur-de-lis banners, with the cross of Calvary and the word Certosa in the centre, recalling his foundation of the Certosa di Firenze, to whose monks he donated this palace. A 1930 plaque carries an Italian text on the Acciaiuoli and a Latin one on the palace's position, taken from the Carte della Certosa.
The palazzo stands on Borgo Santi Apostoli, with the medieval tower at the corner of Chiasso delle Misure. Part of the building is used as a hotel, so the facade and tower are best seen from the street; the two roof terraces at different levels belong to the hotel. The wooden staircase inside is reached from the palazzo.
The tower was built by the Buondelmonti around 1280 and restored in 1864 and 1920, the later work directed by architect Ugo Giusti. The Acciaiuoli family's other palazzo stood across Borgo Santi Apostoli, giving its name to the Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli; German troops retreating in summer 1944 mined its approaches and destroyed it.
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