Looking for the unnoticed: Palazzo Pitti

Palazzo Pitti is known as the residence of the Medici family, but the name reveals its true origins. It was Luca Pitti, archenemy of Cosimo de' Medici, who had it built in 1441 by the architect Luca Fancelli, a testament to the merchant family's economic power.

A power they lost precisely because of this great rivalry with the Medici family. Following the failed attack against Piero de Medici in 1460, the Pitti fell into disgrace and the construction of the palace was interrupted in 1465.
Ironically, a hundred years later it was the Medici who bought Palazzo Pitti, from the then owner, Buonaccorso Pitti.
Cosimo was looking for a new home for his wife, Eleonora di Toledo, who fancied to move away from the unhealthy air of the city and closer to greener areas, abandoning the palace, which subsequently became "Palazzo Vecchio" (literally, Old Palace) The new palace was renovated and expanded between 1558 and 1570, but some curious elements remained unchanged.

As mentioned, Luca Pitti invested considerable time and money in this grandiose palace, which could have contained the entire Palazzo della Signoria, but he wasn't the only one who put all his energy into it. The palace's construction required a great deal of effort from everyone, including the animals who were used for doing the heavy work. Entering the internal courtyard, in the left corner, you'll find a curious marble bas-relief representing a donkey. The inscription above reads:

"LECTICAM LAPIDES ET MARMORA LIGNA COLUMNAS
VEXIT CONDUXIT TRAXIT ET ISTA TULIT"

"With its cart, with sacrifice, it pulled, transported stones, marbles, timber, columns."

An homage to a donkey who contributed to the construction of the palace until her death. Her assistance was so invaluable that, upon completion of the work, Luca Pitti himself decided to honor her with this bas-relief. One of the rare tributes dedicated to an animal by the Florentines.

 Another little curiosity about the palace can be noted on its façade. Apparently similar to that of many other Florentine stately homes, the façade is decorated with characteristic rustication, a masonry technique very popular in Renaissance Italy, which involves the use of protruding, irregularly cut stones that gradually decrease in thickness as they rise. If you look closely, you'll notice that among these are two rather peculiar stones, different from all the others: one very long, 12 meters, and the other very short, not even 50 cm.
Apparently, Luca Pitti wanted to include these two stones as a mockery to his rivals. As head of the Pitti family, he identified himself with the largest and heaviest stone, while the smaller one represented his rivals (perhaps the Medici or Strozzi), who, he believed, were envious of his success and the wealth that had allowed him to build a princely palace.

Next time you visit Palazzo Pitti, linger a bit outside and in the courtyard to look for the "mocking" stones and the plaque dedicated to the hardworking donkey. It's often the smallest and most overlooked details that add a little color to the history of a place.