The loggia was constructed at the end of the 14C to accommodate the members of the Florentine government (the Signoria) during official ceremonies. It was later used as a guardroom by Cosimo I's lancers. Today it houses Antique and Renaissance statues: notable works include the Kidnapping of a Sabine Woman (1583) and a Hercules and Nessus by Giovanni da Bologna, but the highlight is theimpressive statue of Perseus brandishing the head of Medusa, made between 1545 and 1553 by Benvenuto Cellini.