After a brief stint living in the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria, Duke Cosimo I and his wife, Eleonora of Toledo, acquired the palace from the bankrupt Pitti merchant family in 1549 as the Medici's official residence; it was enlarged and embellished substantially over the centuries.
The Medici's official residence used to belong to the Pitti family.
Allowances are viewed as an asset that must get an 8% return.