Historically and to this day the political heart of Florence, with a backdrop formed by the Palazzo Vecchio, the loggia della Signoria and the Uffizi beyond, the square traces its origins to the 13C, when the Guelphs defeated the Ghibellines and tore down their tower houses which formerly stood in this central point of the city. The array of statues around the Palazzo Vecchio and the loggia make this a veritable open-air museum.