Palazzo Davanzati

Palazzo Davanzati is a museum and a typical example of an ancient Florentine house. Indeed it is one of the few buildings in the typical Florentine 14th-century style, halfway between a medieval tower and a Renaissance palace.

 

Built around the 1450s by the Davizzi family, it became property of the Davanzati family only in 1578. They owned it until the end of the 19th century, because in 1904 it was bought by Volpi, an antique dealer who restored it and furnished it with pieces from his collection. After changing hands on several occasions, it was bought by the State in 1951 and opened to the public in 1956. The façade, typical of the period, is decorated with the large 16th-century coat-of-arms of the Davanzati family.

The museum is very interesting because of its interiors and the rare wall decorations, some of which have a geometrical pattern that was typical in the 14th-century.

 

All the rooms have terracotta floors and wooden ceilings, some of them are painted, and the walls of some rooms are decorated with frescos such as the splendid scenes from the Castellana di Vergi legend.
Beautiful furniture from the 14th to the 19th century, such as laundry baskets, cribs and a rare painted cupboard are in the main salon.
In the Parrot's Hall there's a beautiful collection of ceramics and much more to see.