Note 106 — PALAZZO VECCHIO

In old times the Florentines had an almost superstitious admiration for the lion, emblem of the Republic. The Marzocco, as the stone lion of Florence was called, was set above the door, on the four corners, and on the ringhiera of the Palazzo Vecchio, this last was decorated with a golden crown on solemn festivals. The live beasts were kept behind the palace (the Via de’ Leoni still marks the place), and there they remained until Duke Cosimo I. removed them to the Piazza San Marco. Great was the rejoicing in the city when a lioness had cubs; Villani notes the birth of two in 1331 on the day of S. Jacob, in July; and a few years later of six, which he records as a glory for the city and a sign of prosperity for the Commune. Another old chronicler, Paolo Minerbetti, relates how “in 1391 there was much discord and a great battle among the lions, and a lioness who had cubs every year was killed, which was regarded as of evil augury by the citizens.”