◆ HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The construction of the building dates back to 1520-1522, when the Bishop of Bitetto Lorenzo Serristori commissioned the residence in an area close to the water and flour mills of the Renai area. His nephew Averardo, ambassador for Cosimo I de’ Medici, had it enlarged and improved and since then the residence has been the object of additions and embellishments by the most famous artists and architects of the various eras. By the second half of the 17th century the palace had already become one of the most sumptuous in Florence, reflecting the economic ease and the affirmed social position of the lineage. Today the palace has a monumental architectural structure, though not stylistically homogeneous, precisely because of the numerous interventions suffered over the centuries.
Its position on the banks of the Arno, the garden in front of it, and the short distance from the architectural wonders of ancient Florence make it a unique monument within the city’s panorama.