Palazzo della Provincia, Provincial government palace in Piazza del Municipio, Livorno, Italy

The Palazzo della Provincia is the provincial government building at Piazza del Municipio in Livorno, featuring monumental architecture with large symmetrical windows and a central balcony overlooking the square. Its facade displays the classical proportions typical of administrative palaces built for formal state functions.

Ferdinando I de' Medici commissioned the palace in 1605 from Antonio Cantagallina; Giovan Battista Santi enlarged it in 1629, adding a five-arch portico and making it a residence for visiting sovereigns. Napoleon Bonaparte stayed there for a few days in 1796, when it served as a barracks. After the school use ended in the late 1920s, Antonio Caldelli restored it with Galileo Chini; from 1931 it housed the provincial administration. Bombing hit it in World War II, and Ghino Venturi rebuilt it entirely, set back from the original site.

The palace's name recalls its role as residence for grand dukes visiting Livorno, and Napoleon Bonaparte stayed here for a few days in 1796. Inside, look for Plinio Nomellini's painting 'Saluto alla bandiera', a work from the early 20th century.

The palace stands on Piazza del Municipio, next to the Palazzo Comunale; the five-arch portico was rebuilt set back from the square, so the arcade seen today is not on the original 1605 line. The building houses the provincial administration, so the interior is entered for official business rather than sightseeing; the square outside is open at any hour.

During square renovations in 2015, workers discovered remnants of the original 17th-century structure buried beneath the current building. These findings reveal how different historical layers remain hidden under the modern surface.