Palazzo Grifoni is a former aristocratic palace located in Piazza Grifoni

San Miniato San Miniato is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at a historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of the E ...

, in the Piazza Grifoni in the western side of the historic center of the town of

, province of Pisa, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, Italy. Piazza Grifoni lies along the same road that becomes Via Giosue Carducci to the south west and Via IV Novembre, after the intersection of Via Borgonuovo. It is now the seat of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di San Miniato after having belonged to the Barnini family.

History and description

The building was designed by Giuliano di Baccio d'Agnolo in strict Florentine forms and realised by the mid-16th century. It was badly damaged in the last war, but later restored.I. Regoli, ''San Miniato. Guida storico–artistica della citta’ e del suo territorio'' p. 12. It dominates the small square from an elevated position, like

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

, and has a plastered façade, with ashlars in relief along the sides that give the whole the appearance of a fortress. On the ground floor, a large arched doorway framed by blocks of

pietra serena ''Pietra serena'' is a blue-gray sandstone used extensively in Italian Renaissance, Renaissance Florence for architectural details. It is also known as Macigno stone. The material obtained at Fiesole is considered the best and is also quarried a ...

is flanked by two kneeling windows, which are followed by two rectangular openings on each side, framed by stone. The family coat of arms in stone hangs above the portal (gold, to the griffin in black accompanied in head (

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

) by three ball (heraldry) ordered between the four pendants of a red lambello, the central ball in azure, loaded with three gold lilies, and the two lateral ones in red). On the piano nobile, beyond a marcadavanzale frame are seven ribbed windows, with drop-arched keystones, that echo the design of the portal. The top floor is occupied by a continuous loggia, now closed by stained glass, with elegant Doric columns. At the rear, the palazzo has a courtyard overlooking the panorama of Valdarno.

Notes

Bibliography

Italian sources

* Nanni G., Regoli I.: San Miniato guida storico artistica della città e del suo territorio, Pisa 2000. . * ''Toscana. Guida d’Italia'' (Guida rossa), Touring Club Italiano, Milano 2003. .

External links

San Miniato. Palazzo Grifoni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grifoni Grifoni (San Miniato) Buildings and structures in the Province of Pisa Renaissance architecture in Tuscany San Miniato