Fortezza da Basso
The Fortress of San Giovanni is known as the Fortress "Da Basso" and it’s a great pentagonal mass located on the river plain.
It was built by the great architect Antonio Sangallo the Young, around the medieval Porta Faenza in 1534, and commissioned by the Duke Alessandro de' Medici, who wanted to create a kind of citadel of power. In the original designs for the fortress, in fact, there was a palace inside, to be constructed for the Prince himself. Political matters persuaded him to remain in the Medici family residence, placed in Via Larga. Finished in 1537, the fortress is used today as important exhibition center.
It was built by the great architect Antonio Sangallo the Young, around the medieval Porta Faenza in 1534, and commissioned by the Duke Alessandro de' Medici, who wanted to create a kind of citadel of power. In the original designs for the fortress, in fact, there was a palace inside, to be constructed for the Prince himself. Political matters persuaded him to remain in the Medici family residence, placed in Via Larga. Finished in 1537, the fortress is used today as important exhibition center.