The fifteenth century Palazzo Marzocco faces onto the little square of
the 'Borgetto', currently called Piazza Mameli. The house was previously know by the Angelieri family name, as commemorated by the remaining fragments of the sandstone coat of arms that can still be seen on the front of the building.
Palazzo del Marzocco, as we see it today, was built by the Angelieri family who, during the sixteenth century, put together and reconstructed two, already existing, tower houses which were typical medieval buildings in the vertical style.
The name 'Marzocco' does not come from the past owners of the house, however, but from the lion which sits on the upper right hand corner of the front. Local records say that in 1526 the Florentines had the lion, which holds a Medici coat of arms, put up in a public place. The lion was considered to be a symbol of the sovereignty of the people and, therefore, a symbol of one of the principles of the Florentine Republic to which the town had been subject since 1388.
"Palazzo della
Battaglia" opening hours:
Museo delle Memorie e del Paesaggio nella Terra di Anghiari
