On your Florence tours, do visit the Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile in Florence city. For hundreds of years now, the Cathedral square, Piazza San Giovanni and Piazza del Duomo have been known as the center of religion in Florence. The Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile is in the Cathedral square. The Cathedral square contains the following historical structures:
Baptistery of Saint John
Lay Confraternity of Mercy
Giotto's Bell Tower
Cathedral Canonries
Pisan porphyry columns
Bigallo Portico
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo)
Museum of the Opera del Duomo
Column of Saint Zanobius and the
Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile
The Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile is behind the Baptistery of Saint John and its fortunes have fluctuated considerably over the years. St. Ambrose of Milan on his visit to Florence in AD 400 did not stay in an episcopal palace as there was none. But the palace existed in AD 724. In the eleventh century, Countess Matilda, the daughter of the Duke of Tuscany, Boniface, made it her residence. Countess Matilda bequeathed considerable portions of her wealth to the Roman church and the Florentine cathedral.
The historical highlights of the Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile over the years are:
The first Podesta (foreign governor) of Florence occupied the Palace in 1207
In 1273, Greek Emperor Baldwin II was received at the palace on his visit with Charles of Anjou and Pope Gregory X for a new crusade destined for the Holy Land
The Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile was almost destroyed by fire in 1503. This was during the time of Alexander de' Medici, archbishop of Florence, who later went on to become Pope Leo XI. The architect Giovanni Antonio Doscio's design was the basis for the reconstruction
In the seventeenth century, Bernardino undertook the construction of the cortile ground floor rooms and the staircase
In the nineteenth century, the Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile was subject to a restoration devoid of taste. A window fitted with blinds from Countess Matilda's time in the eleventh century, before the advent of glass was destroyed too
While in Florence or passing through Florence, please do not forget to visit the Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile, one of the prime Tourist Attraction in Florence.
Travel.mapsofworld.com provides description of Archbishop's Palace or Palazzo Arcivescovile.
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