Albizi

In 1250, when the Popolo of Florence (those not of noble blood) took the reins of the city to the chagrin of the nobles, they ordered that all the towers (some of which rose over 60m/196ft in height) be cut to a maximum of 50 braccia or roughly 25m/82ft. The building materials obtained by this widespread destruction of the towers were used to make the outer ring of walls in the Oltrarno area of the city. Of the numerous towers that loomed over Florence, that of the Albizi family is one of the very few to survive in the conditions to which it was reduced in 1250.

The Albizi (or Albizzi, but the accent stays on the first syllable) were an ancient Florentine family, probably from Arezzo, who became wealthy in the wool industry. In fact, the concentric circles on their coat of arms originally represented the spindle. The Albizi were traditionally Guelph and, after the split of 1300, they sided with the Blacks.

“And once the Popolo had assumed the power and the sovereignty of city, they ordered for their own protection that all the towers of Florence taller than 120 braccia be cut down to no higher than 50 braccia, and so it was done. The stones were then used to build the walls of the city on the other side of the Arno.”  (Villani, Nuova cronica 7.39)

Coat of arms of the Albizi family