Novel elements were, among others, the loggia open to the street on the corner between Via Larga and Via de’ Gori, used for the transaction of business, the internal colonnaded courtyard as the fulcrum of the entire building, the garden at the back, on Via Ginori, complete with internal loggia and equipped with wall a reaching as high as the first storey of the palazzo. More specifically, the corner loggia, the courtyard visible from the street and the stone bench running round the exterior on which people could sit, established a direct relation between the inhabitants of the mansion and the other citizens.For almost a century the main branch of the Medici family resided in the palazzo.
After Cosimo (1389-1464), his son Piero known as “il Gottoso” (1416-1469) , his grandson Lorenzo known as “il Magnifico” (1449-1492) and the son of the latter, Piero known as “lo Sfortunato” (1472-1503) continued to embellish the rooms of the aristocratic residence with important works of art, precious antiquities and elegant furnishings.
In 1459 Benozzo Gozzoli began to fresco the chapel, which already contained the altarpiece of the Adoration of the Child by Filippo Lippi, and featured a painted and gilded carved wooden ceiling and a splendid inlaid floor of ancient marble.
Gozzoli’s fresco celebrated the magnificence of the Medici, inserting in the portrayal of the procession of the Magi the portraits of the commissioners, their family, friends and allies.