 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Palazzo della Carovana" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Palazzo della Carovana | |
|---|---|
 Palazzo della Carovana. | |
  Palazzo della Carovana Location within Italy | |
| Alternative names | Palace of the Convoy |
| General information | |
| Type | Palace |
| Location | Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7, 56126 Pisa PI, Italy |
| Coordinates | 43°43′10.60″N10°24′0.81″E / 43.7196111°N 10.4002250°E /43.7196111; 10.4002250 |
| Completed | 1562–1564 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Giorgio Vasari |
Palazzo della Carovana (alsoPalazzo dei Cavalieri) is a palace inKnights' Square,Pisa, Italy, presently housing the main building of theScuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.
It was built in 1562–1564 byGiorgio Vasari for the headquarters of theKnights of St. Stephen,[1] as a renovation of the already existingPalazzo degli Anziani ("Palace of the Elders"). The name, meaning "Palace of the Convoy", derives from the three-year period undertaken by the initiates of the Order for their training, called "la Carovana".
The façade is characterized by a complex scheme withsgraffiti representing allegorical figures and zodiacal signs, designed by Vasari himself and sculpted by Tommaso di Battista del Verrocchio and Alessandro Forzori, coupled to busts and marble crests. The current paintings date however to the 19th-20th centuries.
Amongst the sculptures are theMedici Coat of Arms and that of the Knights, flanked by the allegories of Religion and Justice byStoldo Lorenzi (1563). The upper gallery of busts of theGrand Dukes of Tuscany (who were all also the Grand Masters of the Order) were added in the late 16th-early 18th centuries, sculpted by Ridolfo Sirigatti,Pietro Tacca andGiovan Battista Foggini. coat of arms found at palazzo della carovana. The double-ramp staircase was remade in 1821. The rear area is a modern addition (1928–1930) for theScuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Some halls of the interior house 16th-century paintings.
