A mooch around this frescoed Renaissance palazzo is tantamount to a fascinating peek behind of the scenes of a noble family of 18th-century bankers, fervent patrons of the arts and closely linked to the Medici. Rooms stuffed with paintings and tapestries are decorated very much as they were when the Martelli family lived here in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the private collection of 15th- to 19th-century paintings is a treat. Visits are by guided tour only, departing on the hour.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana

0.05 MILES

Beyond the Basilica di San Lorenzo ticket office lie peaceful cloisters framing a garden with orange trees. Stairs lead up the loggia to the Biblioteca…

2. Basilica di San Lorenzo

0.06 MILES

Considered one of Florence's most harmonious examples of Renaissance architecture, this unfinished basilica was the Medici parish church and mausoleum. It…

3. Museo delle Cappelle Medicee

0.06 MILES

Nowhere is Medici conceit expressed so explicitly as in the Medici Chapels. Adorned with granite, marble, semiprecious stones and some of Michelangelo's…

4. Battistero di San Giovanni

0.11 MILES

This 11th-century baptistry – the oldest religious building on the vast cathedral square – is a Romanesque, octagonal-striped structure of white-and-green…

5. Chiesa dei Santi Michele e Gaetano

0.15 MILES

This baroque church, with a beautiful sculpted facade on Florence's smartest shopping strip, was built between 1604 and 1648 on the site of an old…

6. Palazzo Antinori

0.15 MILES

One of Florence's most beautiful 'small' palazzi, this golden abode was built in 1465 for Giovanni Boni, a very rich member of the Money Changing Guild,…

7. Campanile

0.15 MILES

The 414-step climb up the cathedral's 85m-tall campanile, begun by Giotto in 1334, rewards with staggering city views. The first tier of bas-reliefs…

8. Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

0.15 MILES

Cosimo the Elder entrusted Michelozzo with the design of the family's town house in 1444. The result was this palace, a blueprint that influenced the…