Brief history
Palazzo Buontalenti, home of the EUI's School of Transnational Governance (STG), is located in the heart of the city of Florence. In a historic setting, the Palazzo offers cutting-edge technology and innovative teaching facilities. Students, fellows, event and training participants engage in governance beyond borders under the watchful gaze of the frescoes that once adorned the De Medici property. The building's combination of past and present makes time at the School a unique learning and teaching experience.
Palazzo Buontalenti was built in the 16th century as a casino by Francesco I de' Medici, who commissioned the famous architect Bernardo Buontalenti to design it. It was a "place of pleasures" and at the same time a laboratory where the Grand Duke cultivated his passion for science and alchemy.
Over the centuries it was enlarged, rebuilt, defaced, turned into barracks, a customs house and a warehouse. When Rome officially became the capital of Italy in 1870, the Palazzo hosted the offices of State Property (Demanio), and subsequently the Court of Appeal and Criminal Court. These Courts remained in Palazzo Buontalenti until 2012, when they moved to the Florentine neighbourhood of Novoli.
In October 2018, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation signed an addendum to the Headquarters Agreement between Italy and the European University Institute for the use of a portion of the Medici Casino by the EUI, called Lotto Zero. This space would become the new headquarters of the School of Transnational Governance (STG), an ambitious project for both the EUI and European Union.
On 25 June 2019, maintenance work began on the renovation of the space, and once again throughout history, Palazzo Buontalenti would be given a new purpose. Over the many years, it has lost none of its architectural charm, which the restoration and renovation work is now bringing back to light.