The Palazzo Guadagni is the second most imposing building in Piazza Santo Spirito, next only to the Church of Santo Spirito, and it complements the picture of paradigmatic civil Renaissance structures in Florence. The authorship of this palace is disputed between Simone del Pollaiolo and Baccio d’Agnolo, one of them having been commissioned by Ranieri Bernardo Dei (a rich merchant of Florence) in the early 16th century to erect a more imposing residence for him and his family, as a more fortunate alternative to the former several houses in which they used to live.

There are striking resemblances between the Palazzo Guadagni and other notable palaces in Florence, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi and the Palazzo Strozzi, for instance, both with respect to detail (rusticated elements and wrought decorations) and with respect to the overall coherence of the imposing Renaissance style. The name of the palace comes from the marquis Guadagni who purchased the palace in 1683, and the subsequent owners of the edifice, namely, the Dufour Berte family, who acquired it in 1837, maintained this name.

Nowadays the Palazzo Guadagni hosts the Pietro Thouar Library, the first municipal library of Florence, with a book asset amounting to some 20,000 volumes, but one should also keep in mind that as from 1912 to 1964 the German Institute of the History of Art used to be headquartered here. All in all, the Palazzo Guadagni is to be appreciated by the resilience of its original architectural structure and details to the restorations it underwent in time. Furthermore, tourists should keep in mind the palace is, at the same time, a hotel.

Name:
Palazzo Guadagni
Address:
9 Piazza Santo Spirito, Florence
Telephone number:
0039 (0)55 265 8376
Fax:
0039 (0)55 272 8233
Website:
www.palazzoguadagni.com