Guelph Captains

The Palazzo dei Capitani di Parte Guelfa (or Palace of the Guelph Party Captains) was built in 1267 (two years after Dante’s birth) next to the church of Santa Maria Sopra Porta, which had been used until then as the Guelph headquarters. Before then, there were towers here belonging to the Ghibelline Lamberti family that were knocked down in the 1260s. The Captains of the Guelph Party were the most important body within the political faction. Originally, there were only three captains, but the number was doubled to six probably around 1323.

In recognition of their assistance to Charles of Anjou in his defeat of Manfred (in 1266), the Florentines were granted the right to use Pope Clement IV’s personal device, a red eagle that holds a green dragon in its talons over a white field. To that, the Guelphs added a red lily and adopted the symbol as its own. As the Swabian dynasty came to its end, Ghibelline families and cities lost their protectors. As a result, Guelphs eventually ousted the Ghibellines from Florence completely. It was precisely in this heady period (before the irreversible split into White and Black Guelphs) that the Palace of the Guelph Captains was built.

The palace is now the home not only of the official organization of calcio storico (played every June in Piazza Santa Croce), but also of a library that was opened to the public in 1987.

Coat of arms of the Guelph Party