Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, Florence

The Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali is a building in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy.

The site was formerly occupied by the "Pisan Loggia" and the "Chiese de Santa Cecilia" [1] While the architecture of the palazzo is undoubtedly inspired by that of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, also in Florence, the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali was never intended to be a private house but the local headquarters of the General Insurance Company which was founded in Trieste in 1831.

[2] There are other Palazzi delle Assicurazioni Generali in other Italian cities most notably Rome and Milan.

In spite of its height and size the architecture of the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali harmonises with that of the surrounding buildings, and does not appear as a new imposter in the piazza.

However, this is not a view shared by all, one source describes those buildings of Piazza della Signoria occupied by banks and Insurance companies as "seeming to belong to some cold northern climate rather than to the city that gave birth to the colour and vitality of the Renaissance" [4] Part of the ground floor is home to one of Florence's more fashionable and historical cafés – "Rivoire", founded in 1872.