Museums: Palazzo Davanzati (Part 1 of 2)

Florence has a lot of museums, all sorts of museums. 

One museum, the Museum of the Old Florentine House (Museo dell'Antica Casa Fiorentina), is located in center of Florence in the Palazzo Davanzati.  The museum depicts how a wealthy Florentine merchant family lived during the pre-Renaissance and Renaissance eras.

The home was built in the mid-1300's.  The design was a tower house, meaning the building had a fairly small footprint but soared skyward with 5 floors with very high ceilings.  Tower houses had two functions.  One was defense--protecting the family from rival families in Florence and from invaders from outside Florence.  The typical tower house had nearly impregnable doors, small windows and battlements around the top floor.  With food storage and a well, the tower could provide refuge for a long time.

The other function was prestige.  Building and living in a tall house proved a family's wealthy status. The taller the house, the greater the wealth. 

Over time, Palazzo Davanzati was partially transformed from a medieval tower house to a Renaissance-style villa.  The ground floor of the house was a place of business with large open doors for receiving customers and moving goods in and out of the house.  Windows were enlarged for lighting large halls.  A roofed loggia, or terrace, replaced the battlements on top of the house.  An adjacent tower house was purchased and incorporated, greatly expanding the living space of the house.    

The building has been restored to show what daily living was like long ago.  Below are some photos that will give you an idea how wealthy Florentines once lived. 

Palazzo Davanzati

Palazzo Davanzati:  side elevation, with underground gallery and 5 levels above ground

Palazzo Davanzati:  3D rendering

Looking upward from the ground floor.  The center of the tower is open, with a courtyard on the ground floor.  Originally, the top was open to the elements, allowing ventilation and permitting rain and snow to fall into the house. Now, a skylight covers the opening to protect the restored building and its antique furnishings.

The stairways above the ground floor are wooden and well constructed. 

The drain pipe in the photo above caught our attention.  It runs from the roof to the ground floor.  We are unsure when the pipe was added to the house but it is certainly necessary during the rainy season in October and November each year.

Looking down from an upper floor to the courtyard on the ground floor.  From this height, a water balloon could soak an unsuspecting person below.    

Next Up:  Touring the rooms of the house.