A VISIT TO: Palazzo Medici Riccardi

            When imagining yourself moving into your first house in a new city one might expect it to consist of the bare minimum. Maybe the theme of your décor is not fully formed yet, you don’t have a complete set of china you imagined, or the size is just not quite what you want it to be. Upgrading a place of residence is most likely a thought that goes through every single homeowners mind at one point, including the highly established Medici Family. Palazzo Medici Ricardi was the very first building the Medici Family moved into upon their arrival to the Florence in ????.

            I feel that my impression of Palazzo Medici Riccardi was skewed due to the fact that I had already visited the Medici’s last place and most grand of residence while in Florence, the Pitti Palace. The first and most obvious observation that can be made about Palazzo Riccardi is the location. It is located just down the street from the Duomo, on the opposite side of the Arno River from Pitti. I think that most likely the size was a product of their location. Because this location was so central, their residence was smaller. Upon entering the Palazzo the first thing that made an impression was the highly detailed decoration of the courtyard. I one thing I have learned about the Medici Family’s taste is that they value showing their status through their art. The Frescos in the courtyard are perfect way to showcase their status upon arrival.

            As far as religious art goes- inside the Palazzo, it was evident that the Medici did not fall short in the theme of being extravagantly elaborate.  First of all, the small chapel on the second floor. To me, I felt like I was walking into a painting rather then next to many. The 360 degrees of brightly colored and highly technical frescos surrounds you in what one could possibly only imagine in a dream. I remember being most impressed with the colors, which where all very vivid. The tapestry of Constantine was also something that caught my eye and I was able to get a bit of its backstory (thanks to the bored tour guide monitoring the room). Apparently it was copied from a painting that is now in the Uffizi. After learning about the importance of Constantine in class it does not surprise me that the Medici would have commissioned someone to copy this painting into a tapestry so that the Medici could have something to represent him in their home. The last room that impressed me was the large golden room. While the style of frescos differed from chapel, the theme of gold was carried throughout the decor.

            Overall, Palazzo Medici Riccardi is not known to be one of the most grand of places of Residences for the Medici, but seeing the first place the Medici called “home” helped me put the Pitti Palace in perspective because of the size and the location. It also highlighted the idea that the Medici where very concerned about status and even incorporated it into religion.

-Claire Shumaker