The historic Palazzo Vecchio may be found in Florence, Italy, on the Piazza della Signoria. It is home to the Comune di Firenze, or Florence City Council, although the major rooms are open to the public as a museum featuring works by prominent Florentine artists such Domenico Ghirlandaio, Bronzino, and Giorgio Vasari.

Once known as Palazzo degli Priori or Palagio Novo, the seat of power for the Florentine Republic was renamed "Palazzo della Signoria" in the 15th century. In 1540, it became the official palace of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, and the building's name was changed to the Palazzo Ducale to reflect this new status. After Cosimo relocated to Palazzo Pitti in 1565, the building was renamed Palazzo Vecchio.

Arnolfo di Cambio, who began work in 1299, is credited with the first construction. He used the existing Foraboschi tower as part of the building's exterior design. Arnolfo died in 1302, and the palace wasn't finished until 1314, so artists worked on it after his death. The structure has the form of a parallelepiped, and one of the city's symbols—the Arnolfo Tower—is prominently displayed on its primary front. The tower and the inner garden were in jeopardy of collapsing, therefore construction on them began in 1400.

The mural decorating of the Hall of the Five Hundred was commissioned from Leonardo da Vinci (The Battle of Anghiari) and Michelangelo (The Battle of Cascina), two of the most renowned artists of the time. Both projects were abandoned, and Giorgio Vasari's later frescoes covered up the unfinished ones.