Palazzo Vecchio Museum: Hours, Tickets, What to See

Arnolfo's tower of Palazzo Vecchio, with a full moon behind it.

Palazzo Vecchio has been the seat of Florentine government for more than seven centuries, and it still is: the mayor's offices are inside, the city council sits here, and much of the building is a museum. It is the best single visit on the Piazza della Signoria - Medici apartments, Vasari's enormous Salone dei Cinquecento, a Roman theater underground, and a tower with one of the best views over the rooftops.

A Short History

Work began in 1299 on a palace for the city's supreme governing body, the Priori delle Arti and the Gonfaloniere di Giustizia, and the palace was known first as the Palazzo della Signoria. The soaring tower, about 95 meters high, belongs to that first core and is traditionally credited to Arnolfo di Cambio. Over the following centuries the building was extended and altered many times.

Its present look comes mainly from the mid-sixteenth century, when Cosimo I de' Medici moved his seat here in 1540 and had the interiors rebuilt and decorated, largely under Giorgio Vasari, to serve as a ducal palace. When the Medici court crossed the Arno to Palazzo Pitti, the building became the "old palace" - Palazzo Vecchio - although the piazza in front of it kept the name Signoria. The Guardaroba, which stored the family's ceremonial costumes and treasures, and various government offices stayed on. Florence was the capital of Italy from 1865 to 1871, and since the early 1870s the palace has housed the mayor's offices and the city council.

The Free Part: Cortile di Michelozzo

The first courtyard, known as the Cortile di Michelozzo

Do not skip the first courtyard, the Cortile di Michelozzo. You enter it from the main doorway on the Piazza della Signoria - the west side of the building, across from the Loggia dei Lanzi, where the copy of Michelangelo's David and Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus stand guard. Entering the courtyard is free. It is decorated with stuccoes and gilt columns, and the walls carry views of Austrian cities that Vasari painted in 1565 for the wedding of Francesco I de' Medici and Joanna of Austria. In the center of the fountain is the Putto with Dolphin - a copy, since Verrocchio's original is upstairs in the museum.

The museum ticket office is in the second courtyard, the Cortile della Dogana, a little further in. Expect a security check at the entrance. The ground-floor section called Tracce di Firenze, a short illustrated history of the city through works from the civic collections, is also free to visit during museum hours.

The Palazzo Vecchio ticket office

What to See Inside

First floor (the second floor, if you are American): Salone dei Cinquecento

The Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the Five Hundred)

With a ticket you climb Vasari's monumental staircase to the Salone dei Cinquecento, the Hall of the Five Hundred, roughly 52 by 23 meters and still used for conferences, celebrations and government ceremonies. It was built in 1494 for the Republic's Great Council, then enlarged and redecorated by Vasari and his workshop as Cosimo I's showpiece. The ceiling of 39 panels and the huge wall frescoes celebrate the life of Cosimo and Florentine victories over Pisa and Siena, and the statues include Michelangelo's Genius of Victory. Off the hall is the Studiolo of Francesco I, a tiny, jewel-like study reserved for the grand duke and his closest guests.

This hall is also the setting for one of Florence's great art mysteries. Leonardo da Vinci began a mural of the Battle of Anghiari here in 1503, and Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the Battle of Cascina on the opposite wall; neither work is visible today, because the hall was remodeled by Vasari. A persistent legend holds that Vasari built a false wall in front of Leonardo's painting to protect it, and some scholars believe it is still hidden there. Searches so far have been inconclusive.

Mezzanine: the Loeser Collection

The mezzanine keeps more of the atmosphere of the medieval palace than any other floor. A collection of Medieval and Renaissance paintings and sculpture left to the city by the American collector Charles Loeser (donated in 1934) furnishes these rooms as an old Florentine noble house might have looked.

Second floor: the private apartments

Upstairs are the private rooms of the Medici court, all richly decorated and furnished. The Quartiere degli Elementi is the section built in the later sixteenth century, and the apartments of Eleonora of Toledo, Cosimo's duchess, include her Cappella di Eleonora, frescoed by Agnolo Bronzino. The oldest decorations in the palace survive in the Sala dell'Udienza and the Sala dei Gigli, where Donatello's original Judith and Holofernes is displayed - the statue you see outside on the piazza is a copy. Verrocchio's original Putto with Dolphin is also on this floor.

The Sala delle Carte Geografiche (the Guardaroba) is easy to walk past, and should not be missed: an exceptionally large globe and 53 surviving painted map panels by Egnazio Danti give a remarkable glimpse of the world as it was known in the sixteenth century.

Palazzo Vecchio in the snow

The Arnolfo Tower and the Walkway

The tower and the crenellated medieval walkway (the camminamento di ronda) are a separate site from the museum and need a separate ticket. A stone staircase of 223 steps leads up to the top, with views over the whole city. The tower is closed in rain, but the walkway stays open. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before your slot, and note that children under six are not admitted and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. After the climb, the nearby Orsanmichele and the Uffizi are a few minutes away on foot.

Practical Tips

• Thursday is the short day: the museum closes at 2 p.m., and the tower too.
• Last tickets are sold one hour before closing.
• Palazzo Vecchio is still a working city hall. Ceremonies can close the whole museum or single rooms, sometimes at short notice, and visits are restricted during heat alerts. Check the official site before you go.
• Book on the city's official ticket site, not a reseller - see our guide to official Florence museum websites.
• The Firenzecard (€85, 72 hours) is listed for Palazzo Vecchio with priority access; see our museums page for whether a pass suits your trip.
• Visitors with a backpack are asked to carry it in their hand through the museum.
• On weekends there are guided visits to the Roman theater excavations under the palace at noon and 12:45 p.m. (a €5 ticket, up to 15 people, booked in advance). Availability has varied, so confirm when you book.

For Florentine sculpture beyond these rooms, see where to see Renaissance sculpture in Florence.

Frequently Asked Questions

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