Images courtesy of Signor Ettore Farrattini Pojani
Bishop Bartolomeo II Farrattini, who commissioned Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane to design this palace, is commemorated in the inscription:
UT MEMINERINT POSTERI BARTHOLOMEUM FARRATINUM
ALIQUANDO FUISSE EX LABORUM ET VIGILIARUM SUARUM
RELIQUIIS IPSE ET SUIS CASAM POSUIT
Bartolomeo II Farrattini was the Prefect of the Fabbrica di San Pietro in Rome and would have had close links with Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane, who became capomaestro there in 1520. The palace was first documented in his will of 1527.
Palazzo Farrattini is a scaled-down version of Antonio’s more famous Palazzo Farnese, which he had built for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in Rome. (In fact, Palazzo Farrattini probably reflects the original design (1517) for Palazzo Farnese, which was redesigned on a grander scale after Farnese’s election as Pope Paul III in 1534).
Antonio's original floor plan for Palazzo Farrattini survives in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, although the design was simplified before construction. Giorgio Vasari described the resulting palace as "a beautiful and imposing work whereby Antonio [da Sangallo] acquired no little fame and profit". It must have made an enormous impression on Farrattini's more provincial neighbours.
The informative website for Palazzo Farrattini, which now offers accommodation, is at www.palazzofarrattini.it.