Florentine Legends The Reversed Balcony

F lorence is a city full of                                           history where it’s easy to      The building dates back to the     be charmed by surrounds and     16th century, and it seems to      you do not notice some little         have been built in such a curious  corners, minor ones that make you     way as a request of the stable’s   rediscover the city and the           builder, due to some spites with   character of Florentine people.       the Duke Alessandro de’ Medici.                                                                             One of these is little corners in     Looks like, that at the moment of  Florence, perhaps surrounded by a     the project proposal, this was     legend, is in Borgo Ognissanti at     rejected by the Duke, cause the    number 12, where is located the       balcony was too prominent (for     reversed balcony. Admiring it is      some law of the age). After the    a real pleasure especially if you     first reject the builder           think about the legend that           presented the project a second     surrounds it, not because it was      time modifying a few things but    object of peculiar tales but          leaving the balcony almost         because it reflects very well the     unchanged, of course the Duke      city and its inhabitants              Alessandro denied it again. At a   character, reflection where I see     third instance, trying to be       myself too.                           salacious, the Duke wrote on his                                         response: “yes on the contrary”.   The reversed balcony that is          The builder, applying the answer   located on the first floor, was       to the letter, ordered to his      built by assembling counter wise      architect to build the balcony     the classical elements of a           upside-down. Perhaps the Duke      regular balcony: the supporting       Alessandro would have liked to     corbels, its volutes and the          punish the irreverent              balustrades where capitals are in     constructor, but as a Florentine   place of the base.                    … I think he appreciated and       approved his presence of mind.         About the Author: Hotel sempione, Florence hotel accommodation resource. Read more articles by: Simone Alfaweb Article Source: www.iSnare.com