_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.