The Piazza della Signoria is the historic, artistic, political, and emotional heart of Florence. The most prominent feature of the Piazza (among many) is the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's town hall, where the mayor still keeps his office. The current "L" shape of the Piazza is due to the razing of some medieval buildings during the Renaissance.

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To the right of the Palazzo is the impressive arcaded Loggia del Lanzi - built between 1376 and 1382 by Benci di Cione and Simone Talenti, it was originally called the Loggia dei Priori since it provided shelter for outdoor ceremonies marking the change of the priori, or city rulers, which took place here every two months. To this day the loggia provides free, covered seating for tired tourists amongst its treasures of Renaissance and ancient art. In addition to some heavily restored Roman statues of lesser historical import, the loggia is home to Benvenuto Cellini's 1545 bronze "Perseus" (the original is still in situ), a tour de force of bronze casting, and Giambologna's spiraling Mannerist "Rape of the Sabine Women" of 1583. The "Rape of Polyxena" by Pio Fedi and Giambologna's "Hercules and the Centaur" can also be found in the loggia.

Several other notable works of sculpture adorn the Piazza della Signoria. To the left of the door of the Palazzo is a marble copy of Michelangelo's "David", marking the location where the original stood from 1504 until it was removed to the Accademia in 1873. To the right of the door is Baccio Bandinelli's "Hercules and Cacus" from 1534. A copy of Donatello's diminutive (compared to the other sculptures) but powerful "Judith Slaying Holofernes" (originally in the Palazzo Medici but taken to this location when the Medici where run out of Florence) in bronze is also located in front of the Palazzo. To the left of the Palazzo is the Neptune Fountain whose main figure in marble bears the features of Cosimo I, sculpted by Ammannati. The fountain is also surrounded by bronze sculptures. Toward the center of the piazza is a more flattering bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I, again by Giambologna. The Trade Tribunal (Tribunale di Mercanzia) of 1359, from which trade was regulated and merchant disputes settled, is located at the short end of the piazza. Emblems of the guilds appear in a frieze above the second story of its facade.