It's Good to Be the Duke, Part 1

No, really! It's really good to be the Duke. Especially if you are a member of the dei Medici family of Florence.

We saw in the last two posts how the City of Florence has its coat of arms scattered about hither and yon throughout the city.

Today, we're going to begin with the first (of three, I think, but we'll have to see; there are a lot of examples to be seen!) post about another coat of arms that seems to be even more ubiquitous in the city, those of the Medici family.

And, of course, if you're going to start marking your territory with your arms, you should probably begin at home, in this case, the Loggia dei Medici (lodge, or house, of the dei Medici).

Beginning, of course, with the exterior,

where the Medici coat of arms can be seen over each window:

Then you walk in the main entrance, to be greeted with this,

with the Medici coat of arms on its pedestal:

Then, of course, on the walls surrounding the courtyard:

And on the walkways (and in color):

Not to mention the depictions that can be found in the interior of the house:

As I said in the title, "It's good to be the Duke!"

But do these give you any ideas at all for decorating your own place of abode? I know that I'm starting to look at my home in a new light! How about you?