he probably designed the fine coats-of-arms, emblems, and internal decorations of the palace.[102] In a manuscript record belonging to the family, Giovanni Uguccione is described as “living in great splendour, and being one of the noblest, richest and wisest citizens of that time. He was a merchant, but kept no shop. When he rode out his horse was splendidly caparisoned, a sign of magnificence, as at that time there were no carriages.” Uguccione evidently knew that he could rely on the interest the Duke took in his beautiful house, for he encroached on the rights of his neighbours on either side in a most high-handed manner. They went to law, but only obtained a small pecuniary award for the loss of their _sedilia_ and their light. When the palace was completed early in 1559 Giovanni begged to be allowed to occupy part of the Piazza by putting steps outside his door “according to the design, and to give greater beauty to the house.” The permission must have been granted, as in a drawing of the façade by the younger Vasari in the Uffizi, there are five steps leading up to the front door. These have gradually disappeared owing to the rise in the level of the Piazza. Giovanni Uguccione died in December, 1559, leaving the house to his widow Nannina, daughter of Palla Rucellai, and afterwards to his nephews. Nannina’s arms and emblems, the sail and the ring with three feathers, are sculptured together with his own in the entrance hall and in one of the ground-floor rooms. Pope Benedict XIV. bestowed the title of Marquess on Benedetto Uguccione in 1749, and the palace still belongs to his descendants. PALAZZO VAI _Via Cavour. No. 31._ The old family of Orlandini were the original proprietors of this palace, and traces of the arches of their loggia are still to be seen. The street corner was called Canto degl’Orlandini until the palace was sold to Bernardetto de’ Medici, when it took his name, which is inscribed on an old marble tablet let into the wall. Bernardetto was descended from Averardo, grandfather of Cosimo the Elder, and was Gonfalonier of Justice in 1447, and again in 1455. He was the ancestor of Alessandro, Pope for twenty-seven days under the name of Leo XI., and of Bernardetto, married to Giulia, natural daughter of Duke Alessandro de’ Medici, who bought Ottojano from the Gonzaga in the Kingdom of Naples. In 1737, his descendant, Prince Giuseppe d’Ottajano, lay claim to the throne of Tuscany after the death of the last Grand Duke Giovan Gastone, but his claim was disallowed. PALAZZO VECCHIETTI _Via de’ Vecchietti. No. 2._