The ghost of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence

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In one of Florence‘s historic buildings, Palazzo Grifoni, which gracefully overlooks Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, there is a window with a very peculiar history. Be it rain or shine, the windows of the building are always closed except for one. It has remained open for decades although no one lives there anymore. This detail, which might appear accidental, holds a legend with mysterious contours.

The legend of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence

It is said that a noble girl had married a member of Grifoni family, who owned a palace in Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence. The marriage succeeded to such an extent that the two young people loved each other madly. However, as war raged on, the nobleman Grifoni left to serve his city as a knight. From then, his bride waited feverishly for him, spying the square from the palace window to catch his return. Thus the days passed and she embroidered sadly, sitting on a wooden bench.

The nobleman Griffoni never returned. The young woman waited for him in vain all her life until she became old. And so she was found lifeless just near the palace window over which she had sighed so much.

After the burial of woman, relatives sealed the room and barred the window. But, according to legend, suddenly the lights went out and objects started flying all over the room. In panic, the relatives of the deceased lifted the window shutters and everything immediately returned to normal. Since that day, the window is always open, so that the spirit of the woman can still look toward Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, waiting for the return of her knightly spouse.

Samuele Corrente Naso

Author

Samuele is the founder of Indagini e Misteri, a blog on anthropology, history and art. He has a degree in forensic biology and works for the Ministry of Culture. For pleasure he studies unusual and ancient things, such as unclear symbols or enigmatic apotropaic rituals. He pursues the mystery through adventure but inexplicably it is is always one step further.

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