Piazza della Signoria The civic centre of the city of Florence

Since its construction towards the end of the thirteenth century, this Piazza has always been the civic centre of the city of Florence. Both beautiful and elegant, it is dominated by Palazzo Vecchio and its crenellated tower and surrounded by other important buildings such as the Loggia dei Lanzi, the Uffizi - home of the famous museum, Palazzo del Tribunale di Mercanzia, Palazzo Uguccioni and Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, a Renaissance imitation built in 1871 by Landi. In the square, to one side of Palazzo Vecchio, there is Neptune's fountain by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1575), and the bronze equestrian statue of Grand Duke Cosimo I, the work of Giambologna who also realized the bronze tritons, satyrs and nereids which decorate the fountain. In the middle of the square there is a circular plaque which marks the spot where Gerolamo Savonarola was hanged and burnt at the stake and on the steps leading up to Palazzo Vecchio there is a copy of Michelangelo's David (the original is in the Accademia), a copy of "Judith and Holofernes", whose original by Donatello is housed inside Palazzo Vecchio, and 'Marzocco', the lion with the lily, the symbol of Florence.