Palazzo dell'Antella is a palace in Piazza Santa Croce

Piazza Santa Croce

Piazza Santa Croce is one of the main squares of the centre of Florence, Italy.It is located near piazza della Signoria and the National Central Library, and takes its name by the Basilica of Santa Croce that overlook the square.-Basilica of Santa Croce:...

, Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Italy.

Of medieval origins, it was first enlarged in the late 16th century with the addition of a top floor. In the early 17th century it was acquired by Niccolò dell'Antella, together with a nearby one: he commissioned the repainting of the two façades, executed in 1619-1620 by a group of artists (including Domenico Passignano

Domenico Passignano

Domenico Passignano , born Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Contra-Maniera style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century.- Biography :...

, Matteo Rosselli

Matteo Rosselli

Matteo Rosselli was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter-Maniera and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly-populated grand-manner historical paintings.-Biography:...

, Ottavio Vannini

Ottavio Vannini

Ottavio Vannini was an Italian artist of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence.Born in Florence to Michele Vannini. He initially apprenticed for four years with a mediocre painter by the name of Giovanni Battista Mercati, but he then trained in Rome under Anastasio Fuontebuoni. He...

 and others) under the direction of Giovanni da San Giovanni

Giovanni da San Giovanni

Giovanni da San Giovanni , also known as Giovanni Mannozzi, was an Italian painter of the early Baroque period.-Biography:...

, and the design of architect Giulio Parigi

Giulio Parigi

Giulio Parigi was an Italian architect and designer. He was the main member of a family of architects and designers working for the Grand Ducal court of the Medici...

.

The painted decoration consists of a series of panels with allegorical representations, puttos, flowers, vegetable motifs and arabesque

Arabesque

The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...

s. At the centre is the bust of Cosimo II de' Medici.

As they become closer to the church of Santa Croce, the windows are nearer to each other, in order to provide an illusory enlargement of the façade. The internal garden once housed a marble fountain and a statue of "Youth" by Giambologna

Giambologna

Giambologna, born as Jean Boulogne, incorrectly known as Giovanni da Bologna and Giovanni Bologna , was a sculptor, known for his marble and bronze statuary in a late Renaissance or Mannerist style.- Biography :...

, now disassembled in the Hermitage Museum

Hermitage Museum

The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...

 of St. Petersburg and the Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...

 of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.