Men to look up to

We may think we know Florence well, but how often do we look up? For example, have you ever noticed the collection of busts on the façade of a palazzo in borgo degli Albizi? If you have not, it is probably because most of them are high up on the building. In the 1600s, Palazzo Valori-Altoviti belonged to the Valori family, and Baccio Valori il Giovane commissioned Giovanni Battista Caccini to sculpt the busts to honour 15 Florentines who had helped to make the city great. Among those depicted are Dante, Petrarch, Amerigo Vespucci and Lorenzo the Magnificent. So, next time you are passing number 18 borgo degli Albizi, remember that 15 great men of the past are gazing down at you from above.