Palazzo Pretorio

About the museum

The Palazzo Pretorio, also known as the Palazzo dei Vicari, stands in Certaldo Alto on the core of a late 12th-century tower and was the residence of the Alberti counts. After Florence took control of Certaldo, from 1415 the palace was the seat of the vicar, the Florentine magistrate who administered criminal justice in the Valdelsa and the Val di Pesa. The vicariate was abolished in 1784, and the palace, emptied and sold, was divided into private dwellings; the Comune bought it back in 1890, and the restorations were completed in 1895, with neo-medieval additions to the façade.

The brick façade is characterised by coats of arms in glazed terracotta, marble and pietra serena left by the vicars between the 15th and 18th centuries, some of them attributed to the workshops of the Della Robbia and Buglioni families. On the ground floor, besides the entrance hall with the coats of arms, visitors can see the Camera del Cavaliere, used for trials and decorated with frescoes by Pier Francesco Fiorentino, the audience hall, the civil prison with prisoners’ graffiti, the vicar’s private chapel, where the condemned spent their last night, and the torture chamber. The upper floor contains the Sala del Vicario, the private apartments and the guests’ room.

The visit is part of the Certaldo museum system, together with Casa Boccaccio and the Museo di Arte Sacra, and extends to the former church of Santi Tommaso e Prospero. Etruscan and Roman archaeological finds from Poggio del Boccaccio and Pogni, medieval ceramics from Semifonte and the mechanisms of the tower clock are also on display.

Highlights

• Façade with the coats of arms of the vicars in glazed terracotta, marble and pietra serena
• Camera del Cavaliere with frescoes by Pier Francesco Fiorentino
• Civil prison with prisoners’ graffiti and the torture chamber
• Vicar’s private chapel, where the condemned spent their last night
• Etruscan and Roman finds and medieval ceramics from Semifonte
• Audio guide in Italian and English included in the ticket

Permanent exhibition

• Palazzo dei Vicari e museo civico – Visit to the vicar’s rooms: entrance hall with coats of arms, Camera del Cavaliere, prison, chapel and the rooms of the upper floor.

Operated by

Comune di Certaldo

Visitors per year

approx. 32,403 (2022)

Admission & discounts

The combined ticket for two museums (Palazzo Pretorio and Casa Boccaccio) costs €7 standard and €6 reduced; the ticket office of the museum system is in the premises next to the palazzo. Free admission for schools of the Comune di Certaldo, escorts of school trips and guided groups, people with disabilities, ICOM members and residents of the Comune di Certaldo.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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