There are not many palazzi in Florence still occupied by their original families.
There are not many palazzi in Florence still occupied by their original families. Some, like the Medici, Pitti and Corsi-Horne, have become museums, while others, like the Ciofi-Giacometti — now the five-star Relais Santa Croce — have become hotels.
‘Make do and mend’ is a basic Florentine motto: why build a museum when you can convert an old palazzo, town hall (Palazzo Vecchio), magistrates offices (Uffizi), police station (Bargello) or granary (Orsanmichele)? Another guiding principle of the Florentine museum is do the absolute minimum to a building even if it means, as at Orsanmichele, that sole access is over a bridge from the palazzo opposite and thus only negotiable by appointment. A third rule of thumb is keep the tourists guessing by closing every museum on a different day. Navigating the museum system of Italy’s third most visited city is a challenge, unless you’re lucky enough — as a party of us were last summer — to be travelling under the aegis of the V&A. The names Victoria & Albert unlocked doors all over Florence — the only place they failed was Badia Fiorentina, where the priest was hearing confessions.
The trip was in preparation for the opening on 2 December of the V&A’s new £30 million Medieval & Renaissance Galleries. When the wrapping finally comes off the Cromwell Road frontage, 1,800 objects will have been redisplayed in ten dramatically revamped galleries over three floors. The redisplay will tell a continuous story from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance, and galleries will evoke the original settings in which objects would have been seen. While Florence’s palazzi now accommodate museums, the V&A’s East Wing will accommodate a palazzo.
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