View of the Galleria Riccardiana

The Palazzo Medici (later Medici Riccardi) was the symbol of the economic power of the Medicis who were the virtual lords of Florence in the 16th-17th centuries. In the Great Hall of the building, called the Gallery, the ceiling was covered by frescoes in 1683-85 by the Neapolitan painter Luca Giordano, in order to show off the glories of the Medici family. Baroque civilization entered Florence with Pietro da Cortona in Palazzo Pitti and with Luca Giordano in Palazzo Medici Riccardi (1683-85).