Today I went to the Palazzo Vecchio(palace). I stupidly forgot my camera, but there were several interesting points I remember. The main hall you enter is huge. Very tall, with sculpture all around the edges. The sculpture portrays Hercules carrying out his 12 feats and Florence's personified victory over other nations. Michelangelo's Florence triumphing over the older Sienna is brutal.
From what I overheard on a private tour that I snuck onto, the roof is sagging because of the sheer weight. The ceiling serves a double function in that it is both holding the building up, and pulling the thing down. In the nineteenth cenury an architect saved the sagging roof from completely collapsing by talking the weight off half the supports.
Right next to the Palace is a really neat plazza with 2 huge lions. 1 is from Renaissance Florence and the other is from ancient Rome. They look like mere images of the other. Also, in the middle of the showchase is Menealus helping Perseus up. On the side is one of the many frightening images of the rape of the Sabine women. This image was also in the academia.
