A city like Florence is old enough and so rich in history that it has to be at least a little bit haunted. If you are to believe the reports, it appears to actually be rather haunted, indeed. From windows left open for a ghost still awaiting her lover to piazzas still haunted by executions that happened long ago, there are many buildings and spaces around the city that are said to be plagued by the dead. However, there is one ghost that is thought to haunt two different locations in the city. If you feel like going ghost-hunting, just find a luxury villa in Florence and follow him around the city.
Once the Palazzo Vecchio closes for the day, all the tourists have filed back out the door in search of dinner, all of the staff returns home and night falls, the sound of footsteps and squeaking in the supposedly empty building is not uncommon. It is said that there are many ghosts in the Palazzo Vecchio, but one is more famous than others: Baldaccio d’Anghiari.
Once the Palazzo Vecchio closes for the day, all the tourists have filed back out the door in search of dinner, all of the staff returns home and night falls, the sound of footsteps and squeaking in the supposedly empty building is not uncommon. It is said that there are many ghosts in the Palazzo Vecchio, but one is more famous than others: Baldaccio d’Anghiari.
Baldaccio was a medieval nobleman and brave warrior who was, ultimately, betrayed, wrongly accused of treason and killed inside the Palazzo Vecchio in 1441. Stabbed and thrown out a window probably on the orders of Cosimo del Vecchio, it is understandable how is spirit might be holding a grudge.
He is now thought to linger in the place where he met his untimely end and haunts the building, appearing as an irate man.
He can also be seen in the Castello dei Sorci of Anghiari, his birthplace, on September 6. There are also many rules to be respected, should you find yourself in either building after dark: you should not scream his name, name him without a reason, must speak with respect and indulgence and always in a low voice.
He is now thought to linger in the place where he met his untimely end and haunts the building, appearing as an irate man.
He can also be seen in the Castello dei Sorci of Anghiari, his birthplace, on September 6. There are also many rules to be respected, should you find yourself in either building after dark: you should not scream his name, name him without a reason, must speak with respect and indulgence and always in a low voice.
The most famous sighting of Baldaccio dates to 2001 when a young couple celebrating their anniversary were taking photos outside the Palazzo Vecchio. The next day, while uploading the photos to their computer, they found something unexpected and decidedly unromantic, the translucent face of an irate, ghostly man staring out the window of the building. The couple sent the photo to be analysed by experts, who could find no trick and declared it to be genuine. People were quick to say this was the famous ghost that is said to haunt the building but no one really knows what caused this strange effect in the photograph.
Weird and creepy, it is just one more thing that makes Florence one of the most wonderful and fascinating places in the world to visit.
Weird and creepy, it is just one more thing that makes Florence one of the most wonderful and fascinating places in the world to visit.
