In 1592, Alessandro Strozzi commissioned construction at the site on lands that had originally belonged, among others, to the Pazzi family.

The architect Bernardo Buontalenti and his pupil Matteo Nigetti worked on the ground floor (1592-1600), which is characterized by Mannerist touches in the window cartouches and brackets, as well as the side portal.

The recruitment of the artists Santi di Tito to construct the entrance staircase, prompted the other architects to resign the enterprise.

In 1919, it was made the house of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, founded by Paolo Mantegazza, and pertaining to the Università degli Studi di Firenze.

The eclectic items include Inca mummies from Peru; kimono from Japan; skull trophies from New Guinea, and other objects.