Palazzo Tempi, Florence

History

The ownership of this site and palace is complex, because it changed hands many times since the construction of the palace. The area in front of the palace towards the river, now consisting of the Lungarno Torrigiani, included some houses and the razed Santa Maria dei Bardi, also called Santa Maria Sopr'Arno. This church is recalled by the Piazza on the river side.

The general area prior to the mid 14th-century, belonged to the Bardi di Vernio, but many of the buildings were destroyed or looted during the Revolt of the Ciompi in 1343. The house at the site became property of the Medici, who sold it in 1480, to gonfaloniere Bernardo del Nero. He ended up executed in 1497 by the Savonarola's Republic for plotting the return of the Medici. The next owner, Raffaello Antinori, enlarged the palace to nearly its present size. In 1553 the palace was sold to the Capponi, who sold it in 1591 to the Torrigiani, owners of the nearby Palazzo Torrigiani who quickly sold it to Belisario Vinta, a long-serving administrator for the Medici, from Cosimo I to Cosimo II. Vinta created the facades on the via de Bardi side, including a portal with the bust of Cosimo II (1609). …