All photos by Andrea Paoletti
For the 150th anniversary of Florence’s time as capital of Italy, a new exhibition called A Palace and a City has opened at Palazzo Spini Feroni, home to the boutique and offices of Ferragamo.
The exhibition goes back in time. The entrance showcases a reproduction of the clock on the building’s façade, recounting the history of the palace, its artistic and architectural heritage, as well as its connection with the city.
Not many know that the palace, built in 1289, acted as Florence’s government offices from 1846 throughout the era of Florence as capital, from 1865 to 1870. Through the exhibition, with borrowed pieces from museums and private collections, the various seasons of the monument will be reconstructed, from quotes by Dante that narrate the story of Beatrice, the lover of Dante Alighieri, who supposedly drew water from the palace’s well, to the reconstruction of the library Gabinetto Viessieux, which was located at the palace from 1873 to 1898, to its transformation into the Hotel d’Europe and when the building’s paintings and sculptures were exhibited in galleries, primarily in Galleria Bellini, which was housed there from 1927 to 1937.
Salvatore Ferragamo acquired the palace in 1938, which is nicely reconstructed in a postcard format with historical images from the house placed on ‘50s style displays. This brings us to the world of fashion, which is honored by a wall with 900 shoes designed by Salvatore and his daughter Fiamma from the ‘50s and the ‘60s and with a large table with sandals from the ‘30s and ‘40s.
Un Palazzo e la Città
Palazzo Spini Feroni
Until April 3, 2016
Article translated by Courtney Runn
