Palazzo Vecchio de' Medici, Pisa

The Palazzo Vecchio de' Medici, also called the Palazzo della Prefettura is a Gothic revival-style palace located on Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini #7, in the city of Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy.

Facade of Palace

History
View of the lungarno Mediceo with Palazzo Medici (left) and the church and convent of San Matteo, in a photo by Paolo Monti, 1973

The palace was erected at the site of a house with a tower, built in the 11th century by the aristocratic Albizone (or Albitone) family.

The palace was the residence in 1539, of Cosimo I de’ Medici, and further refurbished by Eleonora of Toledo. In 1574 Francesco I de' Medici erected a new Medici Palace (Palazzo Reale) in town, and by 1784, this Palace became property of Jacopo Finocchietti.

The present facade was commissioned by Marchesa Vittoria Spinola (Morganatic daughter of Vittorio Emanuele II), per the designs of Ranieri Simonelli. This architect replaced the facade windows of the first and second floor with gothic mullioned windows, and erected a tower with merlons (1879).

The palace now houses the prefecture.[1]

References
  1. http://www.turismo.pisa.it/it/cultura/dettaglio/Palazzo-Vecchio-de-Medici---Prefettura/ Palazzo Vecchio de Medici at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-01-21) Tourism office of Pisa

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