I love Florence for all the possibilities it gives you to know more about its culture, architecture and history. The latest one was due to the Festival delle Generazioni – an event to promote the cooperation between young people and older generations. It included workshops, debates, concerts and a possibility to visit Palazzo Vecchio. I couldn’t lose this possibility, also because currently we are hosting a friend from Moldova.
So we went to see the palace, unfortunately we didn’t have the guide, but I knew that guys who work there as museum guards and are present in all the halls of the palace know a lot about its history and secrets. It was an evening visit and there were not a lot of people, the guards were a bit bored so I started talking with one of them. |
I remembered from our last visit about existence of a secret room that has a little grid window facing the Salone dei Cinquecento – a former seat of the Grand Council – I wanted to understand where it comes from.
One of the legends says that it was a secret room of the Duchess Bianca Cappello the second wife of Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici, she was very interested in the political affairs of the State, so she could follow the Council’s meetings from this secret room without being noticed. The guy turned out very passionate about this secret and I immediately agreed when he asked if we want to see it. The room is a piece of women’s ingeniosity, a way to spy upon the Council’s work and political life. It is really amazing how a wall in the Hall of Geographical Maps easily opens to lead you through a tiny corridor to this room, amazing how old palaces and medieval buildings all have secret passages, tiny corridors and doors in the walls.
MY ADVICE: if there are not a lot of tourists or people around the Palazzo Vecchio, talk to the guards, they are not allowed but some of them will be more than willing to tell you the secrets of the palace.
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