Palazzina Reale o Presidenziale

The Real or Presidential small Palace near the railway station of Santa Maria Novella was intended to be used as a stop and temporary residence for the King and his court. Built by Giovanni Michelucci for its structural part and by Italo Gamberini and Pier Niccolò Berardi for its painted and sculpted decorations, it stands out for its precious coating materials and its refined details and finishes. Leaning forward compared to the building wing alongside via Valfonda, its structure spreads over a plan of 28 metres for each side, internally organized around the Royal Room, enclosed between two vestibules on the long sides (Atrium and Spike Room) and surrounded on the opposite sides by the king’s small, special room (Polluce Room) and by the ministers’ small room, with related services. The outer covering is almost entirely made of marble also used inside for the walls, on which solid wood frames of white marble of Carrara stand out, while, for the floor of the transit gallery and the honour portico, the green serpentine of the Alps has been used.