Palazzo Budini Gattai

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Palazzo Budini Gattai, 1563-1574
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
Florence, April 2015

“It is said that the residents of Palazzo Budini Gattai, in piazza Santissima Annunziata, never close the shutters of the far right window on the second floor. Legend has it that they are too afraid. Many years ago, a young married couple lived there, deeply in love. When he was summoned to war, she waved goodbye from this window as he rode across the square. Every day the noblewoman sat sewing and waiting at the open window, looking out for her husband to come riding back to her from across the piazza. Months turned into years, but he never returned. She continued to wait for him until her death, in that very room. After her funeral, the servants finally closed the shutters. At that point, mayhem broke out. The furniture started shaking, lights flashed and paintings fell off the walls. The uproar continued until the shutters were opened once more. At least one has been left open ever since to allow her ghost to continue to sit by the window, ever hopeful that she will see her beloved, triumphant from that ancient war, returning to her across the square.” (Florence’s phantoms, The Florentine)