The decors of Palazzo Ducale

During the period of the aristocratic Republic, the Palazzo had a pretty plain décor, suited to the functions of a representation office but certainly not able to compete with the ostentation of a princely court. Refined furnitures and tapestries were added during the 17th and 18th centuries, but with the arrival of Elisa Baciocchi, the Palazzo's pieces of furniture were believed to be scarce and out of fashion for a Court. The baroque and rococò styles represented the Ancient Regime. So Elisa called Jean Baptiste Gilles Youf, a carpenter from Paris who worked with ebony, and organized a factory in the ex-cloister of S. Pier Cigoli, from which the new neoclassical pieces of furnitures came out. Fabrics, bronzes, porcelains and other objects were specifically bought in Paris. Other furnishings were created thanks to the still existent local plants, wich were incentivized from the presence of the Court. The Gilles Youf's factory was the centre of irradiation of the new Empire of Lucca style. Maria Luisa di Borbone further enhanced the decors of the monumental apartments with both precious pieces of furniture, some of which were designed by Nottolini in a neoclassical style, and with furnishings, bronzes and new silverwares. The curtains, silk tapestries, carpets and vases were also noteworthy. Under the Borbone, the Palazzo's decor became more various in styles. With the transfer of the Palazzo to the goods of the Italian monarchy in 1860, the mansion was dismantled; all the furnitures were transferred to Florence and used for the new Savoy decor of Palazzo Pitti and other representation offices of the new government.