Palazzo del Podestà, Medieval palace in Montevarchi, Italy.

Palazzo del Podestà faces Piazza Varchi beside the bell tower of the Collegiata di San Lorenzo. Its ground-floor hall, once an open loggia for citizens' assemblies, keeps 14th-century cross vaults; behind it a rectangular courtyard, now covered, led to the stairs up to the Podestà's and Comune's halls. The 16th-century facade recalls Baccio d'Agnolo's Florentine Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni.

The building was constructed in the 14th century as an administrative headquarters and underwent significant remodeling in the 19th century. Those changes followed the region's integration into the unified Italian state and adapted the structure to new governance needs.

The name recalls the podestà, the magistrate who governed Montevarchi from 1273, when Brunetto Latini took office after the town passed to Florence. The ground-floor hall, once an open loggia for citizens' assemblies, was closed in the 19th century to make two prison cells for the pretura; the 14th-century cross vaults remain visible.

The plaza in front of the building is easily accessible and offers a good overview of the facade and its details. The interior can be visited at certain times, so it is advisable to check opening hours in advance.

The ground-floor hall, once an open loggia where citizens voted by universal suffrage, was walled up in the 19th century to create two prison cells for the pretura; the 14th-century cross vaults remain visible above. A small door still links the palace to the San Lorenzo bell tower, whose spire was added only in 1560.