Built between 1565 and 1577 on a project by Bartolomeo Ammannati, the palazzo has an unusual courtyard that communicates with the garden to the rear. A grotto decorated with statues and cobbles, and surmounted by a passageway, was built in the 16th century. Inside the passageway, there was also a "Clock having 17 bells of different pitch that when repeatedly struck, played a symphony". The garden was thus described in the guide by Bocchi: «Past the courtyard, a Garden with orange espaliers, lemon trees, and a fountain in line with the main gate, nobly cheer the Palazzo and imbue it with delight».

The palazzo houses the Lyceum Club Internazionale, the oldest Florentine women’s club, as opposed to the salon of a private home. Founded in 1908 after the opening of chapters in London, Paris and Berlin, in 1998 it became a non profit-making cultural association.