Palazzo Niccolini is a historic building located on Via Cavour, one of the most important streets of the city of Florence. The road is currently dedicated to Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, a central figure in the history of Italian unification. He died a few months after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, which took place on March 17, 1861, and in the wake of patriotic emotions and enthusiasm, on June 27 of the same year, Marquis Ferdinando Bartolommei, standard-bearer of Florence, proposed to name the street after him, which up until then had been called Via Larga.
Via Larga degli Spadai was so named for the presence of numerous gunsmith shops who forged swords; its width allowed for jousting and attractions, that otherwise would have required the space of a square. It became even more important when the Medici family decided to build the great family palace, moving to this area of the city, many political and representative functions. In addition to Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, on the Via Cavour of our days, many historical buildings can be found.
Palazzo Niccolini, today Accademia Europea di Firenze headquarters, is located at no. 37.
The oldest owners of Palazzo Niccolini were members of the Salvatici family who built it upon three previous houses. Subsequently, the palace was subject to several changes of ownership: In 1755, Ippolito Scaramucci bought the palace; in 1794, it passed to the Borghi, whose descendants in 1850 sold it to Alessandro Tognozzi-Moreni. The descendants of the Tognozzi-Moreni family sold it to the Manetti & Roberts Company in 1940. br /> Situated on the façade, the very important inscription that today gives the building its name. Located above the door and inscribed in Roman capital letters by Francesco Bigazzi, a rectangular white marble plaque reads:
GIO. BATTA. NICCOLINIQUI MORÌ
NEL XX SETTEMBRE MDCCCLXI
Giovan Battista Niccolini. Here died on 20 September 1861
G.B. Niccolini was an Italian Thespian born in Bagni di San Giuliano, Pisa, in 1782. A young man of republican and anti-clerical sentiments, which he maintained until his death, he composed political tragedies that had only one purpose: the condemnation of tyranny, especially theocratic tyranny. He had triumphal successes, especially in his last years, when he dedicated his refined eloquence to serve the national cause.
When he died, the Teatro del Cocomero on Via Ricasoli in Florence and the Via Niccolini, located in Piazza Beccaria, from Piazza D'Azeglio at the intersection of Via Leopardi with Via Manzoni, were dedicated to his name. His tomb is located in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence: it is a marble sculpture depicting the Statue of Liberty of Poetry, sculpted by Pio Fedi. It inspired the French sculptor Bartholdi for the larger one, but similar in shape and gesture, erected in the port of New York.
from: Martina Massimilla, Palazzo Niccolini di via Cavour 37. Historical profile, 2017
