Palazzo Ghibellino

A 13th-century palace on the main square housing two museums: the Museo Paleontologico, with fossils from the Arno valley, and the Archivio Storico Comunale, the town's historical archive. The fossil collection is small but genuine — whale bones, shark teeth, and other remnants from when this part of Tuscany lay under the sea.

The building itself is worth seeing for its medieval fabric and the inscription above the door marking the council of 1260. Not a destination in itself, but a good complement to the Collegiata across the square if you have time.

things to do museum sight
A story
Empoli was long a Ghibelline stronghold — supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor rather than the Pope. In 1260, after the Ghibelline victory at the Battle of Montaperti, a council was held here to decide the fate of Florence. Farinata degli Uberti, the Ghibelline leader the main square is named after, famously vetoed the proposal to raze Florence to the ground — an act of mercy commemorated by Dante in the Inferno.