Michelangelo’s Graffiti and a Peeing Lion, Florence, Italy

Everywhere I go, I like to find little legends and oddities. Today I want to tell you about two that can be found in Florence. Palazzo Vecchio (which means Old Palace) in Piazza della Signoria is where the Medici used to rule from before they moved to the more modern palace on the other side of the river. The Old Palace is filled with amazing art, sculpture, and decorations, but I want to talk about two little curiosities you can find on the outside of the building that are easy to miss.

On the front of Palazzo Vecchio at the corner nearest to the Uffizi Gallery, you can find a small image of a man’s head in profile etched into the stone. Legend has it that this tiny portrait was done by the great Michelangelo himself. It’s known as Michelangelo’s Graffiti or L’importuno di Michelangelo in Italian.

The Italian name basically means, the one who importunes, or annoys, Michelangelo. It refers to one story about what might have caused Michelangelo to deface this public structure.

It seems that often when Michelangelo was in the piazza, he would be approached and trapped in conversation with a man who just wouldn’t shut up. The man would annoy Michelangelo to no end, but the great artist just couldn’t think of a polite way to make his escape. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).