Palazzo Vecchietti, Florence

Palazzo Vecchietti is a Renaissance palace whose most arresting detail is a small devil figure fixed to its corner. You can see the sculpted figure beneath the family shield, where it serves as a copy of Giambologna’s Diavolino; the original is held at the Bardini Museum. Giambologna created the building for the Vecchietti family, whose wealth came from the fur trade and who had hosted and supported the artist.

The corner sculpture was designed to accommodate a banner used in the Potenze Festeggiante, an aristocratic public game. As local legend has it, its devilish identity recalls a miracle of Saint Peter Martyr: in 1243, a black horse threatening a crowd vanished after the saint made the sign of the cross. The story connects this corner with the old Canto dei Diavoli.

Look at the windows across the façade: their pediments have an unusual interrupted form, while the stonework gives the palace a strongly worked texture. A Vecchietti coat of arms, bearing 5 ermines on a blue background, completes the corner composition.