Walking westwards along via San Martino you meet palazzo Bertolli Carranza. The original nucleus was a group of buildings constructed after 1195 by the Del Testa family, rich trades-people. The medieval tower houses were converted into a spacious palazzo or mansion, commissioned by Alessandro Del Testa in 1764. In 1885 the palazzo was bought by Livio Carranza who re-decorated the rooms.
On the opposite side of the street is palazzo Manetti. Some medieval stonework can be seen on the side; at the back is a brick-built tower with a two-light mullioned window in marble. Over the centuries the palazzo underwent several changes; it was bought by the Manetti family in the 17th century. In the 1800s it was linked to the building on the east side by closing an alleyway.A little further on, is palazzo Triglia. During the Medici period it was known as “dell’Abbondanza” (Abundance) because on the ground floor cereals were stored in large brick silos and there were “stoves” for drying the grain. Later this storehouse was restructured and greatly transformed. On the façade is a coat of arms with a crest.Also to be admired near palazzo Salviati is palazzo Franceschi, now occupied by the Bank of Italy. It was the home of the Counts Franceschi family and reaches back to Lungarno Galilei. The neoclassical facade was added in the second half of the 18th century by the architect Ignazio Pellegrini. The rooms are decorated with frescos by Tempesti, Tarocchi e Bezzuoli.Near the end of the street is palazzo Cevoli. It became a nobleman’s palazzo in the 1600s, by combining several case-torri and closing some medieval alleyways.
During renovation the plaster was removed from the façade on Via S. Martino and the medieval pilasters can be seen with segmental arches and brickwork between them. The windows with attractive surrounds in grey sandstone were added the 1700s.
This building is famous because in 1709 King Frederic IV of Denmark stayed here. For the occasion, some of the rooms on the first floor were painted with frescos by Ferretti and Gherardini.