This building is believed to have been built between 1444 and 1460 by Michelozzo Michelozzi on the orders of Cosimo the Old. It represents the prototype of the Florentine Renaissance style, characterised by mullioned windows of every size. Halfway through the 17th Century it was sold to the Marchesi Riccardi family who enlarged it. The Riccardi family held onto the palazzo until 1814 when it became the site of the Ministry of the Interior and, from 1871, the Prefecture. Inside there is a beautiful porticoed courtyard where there are many Roman remains.