Salone dei Cinquecento

We continued our tour of Palazzo Vecchio, viewing the Grand Hall, touring Pope Leo X's Apartments, and then visited the Christmas Market at Piazza Santa Croce.

Interestingly, Grand Hall was built by Savonarola to accommodate the representative body of the Florentine Republic, which went by the name of Grand Councilors.

Savonarola was a reform preacher who condemned the Renaissance and the excesses of Wealth and Power. But he eventually became too woke and extreme, and was imprisoned in the tower of Palazzo Vecchio, then tortured, hung, and his dead body burned in Piazza dell Signoria.

All of the paintings are by Giorgio Vasari, a Mannerist painter who perhaps is most famous for writing Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, a book which sought to define the Renaissance, which promoted Italy’s role in the Renaissance but not other parts of Europe.

Unless I am mistaken this is Room of Leo X, a particular room inside a particular group of Royal Apartments known as Quarters of Leo X.

Pope Leo X was a Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent who grew up alongside Michelangelo. He was born prior to the Medici being exiled and cast out of Florence.

While in exile, the Medici used their political influence to have teenage Giovanni appointed as a Cardinal, a move which paved the way for him to be elected Pope. All of which machinations helped the Medici once again rise to power.

As Pope, Leo X censured Martin Luther. This fresco depicts Pope Leo X in Piazza della Signoria in 1515, just outside the building we are standing in.

Christmas Markets in Europe, like this one in Piazza di Santa Croce, are filled with Christmas knick-knacks, street food, and fun.

If I recall correctly the Christmas Market in Florence is controlled by locals, in contrast with the regular street market, located between Mercato Centrale and Basilica di San Lorenzo, which is filled with Refugees hawking imports.

I look satisfied. I must have just eaten another tripe sandwich.