Jessica Gilker, reporting
Dustin McCormick, photographer 
Jenny Mischler, videographer

Music emits from the large stone building, Palazzo Strozzi. Locals and tourists are drawn into the classical piano music performed by Massimiliano Ferrati on an evening in July 2008, during the Festival Firenze Classica, or "Florence Classical Festival."

An audience member Maria Luiza Miea, a Brazilian who lives in Switzerland, commented while attending the concert, "You cannot only think of the past but also of the present."

Florence and its historic sites, such as the palaces, have adapted to the changes that the city has faced over the centuries and the current growing number of tourists.

Palazzo Strozzi was home and seat of power to the Strozzi family and is now home to a museum and special exhibitions. 

Construction for the palace began in 1489, for Filippo Strozzi, but the palace wasn't finished until 1538. It remained in the hands of the Strozzi family until 1937. 

In summer 2008 Palazzo Strozzi hosted the Impressionist exhibition, Hidden Techniques of the Impressionists. The Centre for Contemporary Culture Strozzina also offers performances, exhibitions and films in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi. 

The Role of Modernity

As Florence's government changed "the palazzi were transformed from the home of the governing families, the rulers of Florence, into museums. From palaces of the political power, like the White House or Capitol Hill, to museums," historian Stefano Farina said. 

Florence's great monuments of art and political power have been transformed into attractions and museums for tourists. 

Tourists admire the grand statue.

"Overall, Florence survives thanks to tourism," Farina said. "Its economy is dead and without tourism, it would be a sort of 'ghost town.' More tourism means more damages to monuments, but also more money to restore them."

Museums might help preserve the history, which the palazzi possess. "The cellars of Palazzo Pitti are full of artifacts of minor Florentine artists," Farina said. "The passing of time is destroying them. A private entrepreneur could expose them in a museum, earn money and restore some of them." 

The palazzi that are still used for daily life also suffer. The Palazzo Vecchio, for example, is still the home of the City Council. 

"I hope it will be soon a museum because it is suffering from being the home of administrative offices," Farina said. "I think that you realize how harmful it could be with a printer with a toner full of ink in a room with its walls frescoed by an artist of the school of Leonardo da Vinci."

With the palazzi transitioning into public venues, they can offer first-hand experiences of Florence's history, whether through a museum or through public events.

The palazzi of Florence represent the trials and changes Florence itself has endured. 

Palazzo Pitti, located across the Arno River, was home to the Signoria of Florence. The word 'signori' is translated to English as either "master" or "governor." The palace housed Florence's major families for centuries, including the Pitti family, the Medici and, therefore, Florence's governing members.

Along with the change of power through government type and leader so did the purpose of the palazzi.

During World War II, many of the palaces were taken over and used as German headquarters. Anglo-Americans troops liberated Florence in August 1944, and the palazzi were turned back over to the city.

One of the palaces that exchanged hands in the war is Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, built for Cosimo de' Medici in 1445. The complex has a varied history, producing art and culture in one age and violence, evil and genocide in another, Farina said. 

During World War II, the palazzo was as a sort of headquarters for Nazis assigned to discover Jews and send them to concentration camps. 

"In Italy it is taboo to speak about . . . the Italian role in the Holocaust," Farina said. "So it is interesting because the same palace [has] a different face." 

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi now is home to the Istituto Storico della Resistenza Toscana, which offers studies in the resistance movement of Tuscany. The institute also archives Florentine documents from the World War II period. Today Palazzo Medici-Riccardi is also home to the Florence Provincial Authority and the Prefect, or Provincial Governor.

If Florence can maintain the palazzi, locals and tourists can continue to enjoy seeing close up those sites that represent the past governments of Florence.