[Florence] Medici-Riccardi Palace
The palace was designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo de’ Medici, head of the Medici banking family, and was built between 1444 and 1484.
The tripartite elevation used here expresses the Renaissance spirit of rationality, order, and classicism on human scale. This tripartite division is emphasized by horizontal stringcourses that divide the building into stories of decreasing height.
the palace continued to be used by the Medici until 1540 when Cosimo I moved his principal residence to the Palazzo Vecchio. The Palazzo Medici continued to be used as a residence for younger family members
Other decorations of the palazzo included two lunettes by Filippo Lippi, depicting Seven Saints and the Annunciation, both now at the National Gallery, London.
In 1938 a dinner between heads of state Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler was held in the palace.
