Palazzo dei Capitani

In times past the village of Palazzuolo sul Senio belonged to the powerful Ubaldini family, who sold it to Florence for a large fee in 1362. There are no outer walls: the village grew up around the palazzo on the banks of the River Senio, acting as an outpost for the Florentine Republic in controlling and administering the border area with Romagna. Due to its archaic volumetric shape, the building looks more like a country farmhouse or possibly, given the bell tower, a monastery, rather than a public palazzo. The only indication of its original function are the coats of arms on the facade of the central block, and the clock on the bell tower.

A loggia with two large rounded arches on the north-west corner adds an original touch.The steeply sloping roofs and the stone slabs used in their construction are typical of the mountain architecture of the Tosco-Romagnolo Apennines.

The Palazzotto was the seat of the Vicari sent by Florence to rule the area; later, in the Medici period, it was occupied by the Capitanato, hence its current name Palazzo dei Capitani. The building that can be seen today is the result of a series of extensions to the original block erected in 1373, detectable in the left side of the palace with the stairs leading up from the covered landing. The higher and deeper section on the right with the loggia seems to date back to the Mannerist period. However, the most significant modifications were made between the 18th and 20th centuries. Old photographs indicate that the loggia was closed up and the whole building plastered. The coats of arms of the Vicari and Capitani are worth seeing; made almost exclusively from local stone, they are dotted around on the walls and bell tower, providing an extraordinarily harmonious note of colour.

A headstone on the facade recalls the passing through this area, on October 10 1506, of Pope Julius II escorted by Niccolò Machiavelli.

The Archaeological Museum Upper Mugello and the Museum of Mountain Folk are located inside the palace.