Title

Author(s)

Mattia Gennari, Camilla Iaquone, Gianluca Falaschi

Affiliation

Department of Architecture – University of Florence

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/VJXW5464

Keywords

Loggia, Borgo degli Albizi, House

PP

403-410

How to Cite

Gennari, Mattia, Camilla Iaquone, Gianluca Falaschi. “The Loggia of Palazzo Valori-Altoviti The Reuse Project for a House in Borgo degli Albizi in Florence.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 403–410. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

«On the third floor there is a large covered terrace that runs the full length of the hall on the piano nobile. From it, a room opens to the right, and from this room three further rooms with an airy, spacious roof can be reached. Behind these spaces is a large room used for straw working, which corresponds to the façade on the Pazzi courtyard.»

This description records the condition of the loggia of Palazzo Valori-Altoviti, known as “the Terrace,” on 4 April 1727, when the solemn inventory of the estate of Gio. Gualberto Guicciardini was signed. The inventory was drawn up for Luigi Guicciardini, whom he had named his heir, by Jacopo di Vinciglao Vinci, and it is now held in the Panciatichi archival collection at the State Archives of Florence.

The building is best known for the “Visacci,” the portrait busts set into its main façade. Reconstructing its history allows us to read the large covered terrace, which lacks the rich decorative scheme found throughout the rest of the palazzo, as an upper space aligned with the main halls of the noble floors below, giving access to servants’ quarters and work areas.

The loggia’s three bays were walled up in an intervention that can currently be dated to within the last two centuries. They remain legible on the façade thanks to the pilasters and columns, partly embedded in the masonry, and to three large windows. Through these, above the rooftops on the opposite side of Borgo degli Albizi, one can still see the towers of the Bargello and Palazzo della Signoria, the bell tower of the Badia Fiorentina, the church of San Miniato al Monte, and the hills beyond the Arno.

The proposed case study concerns the ongoing project to repurpose the loggia and the attic spaces as a dwelling. The project preserves the property’s original and distinctive features while renewing its residential use in a contemporary architectural language.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.