In addition to the large palaces, fifteenth-century Florence
is characterized by numerous other types of dwellings. First came
the 'palagetti', which repeated on a smaller scale the schemes of
the larger palaces (portals and windows in pietra serena,
classical elements, etc.) and houses on a medieval lot with a
frontage of nine braccia (m. 5.25), a measurement that depended
on the use of wooden floors allowing for a street entrance to the
bottega (shop) or warehouse and to the house itself, which ranged
from two to five stories in height and had a small courtyard or
garden at the hack. The entrance led directly to a steep straight
flight of stairs, about a meter wide, generally repeated in
identical form up to the top floor.
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