A LITTLE HISTORY OF
FULL UP CLUB

Full Up Club is one of Florence’s longest-running and most iconic venues, with a history rooted in the heart of the city’s historic center.

The venue opened its doors in 1958 as a dance hall, with its rooms carved out of the basement, wine cellar of the historic Palazzo Libri. In 1968 with its first and only change in ownership, it was transformed into a private club, called Stork and later changing its name to Lady Godiva. Its current identity, Full Up Club, took shape in 1973, when it became a disco open to the public. In the 1990s, the club expanded, incorporating the ground floor of the adjacent Palazzo Covoni delle Burella, and this structure has remained unchanged to this day.

Throughout its decades of activity, Full Up Club has hosted a myriad of prominent figures from the world of music and entertainment, both national and international. Among the many celebrities who have crossed its threshold are Kevin Spacey, Paolo Villaggio, Geena Davis, Cameron Diaz, Renato Zero, Rod Stewart, Spandau Ballet, and Steve Norman. The latter, saxophonist and percussionist for Spandau Ballet, even performed a solo show at the venue in 2018. Alessandro Gassman and Francesco Nuti, were also regular guests. Images of these, and other well known guests, are displayed in the club’s interior rooms.

Full Up Club enjoys a privileged position in Florence’s historic center, located within two 14th-century palaces, in Via della Vigna Vecchia 25/r and 23/r. Its proximity to the city’s landmarks is notable: just 150 meters from Piazza della Signoria, 300 meters from Piazza del Duomo, and 200 meters from Piazza Santa Croce, thus placing it in the historic heart of Florence.

Most of the club unfolds within Palazzo Libri. This grand building, which from the 16th century took its name from the Libri family (of the Gonfalone Bue, who owned it for over four centuries), while not boasting elaborate architectural decorations on its facade, conceals within it a magnificent 15th-century courtyard with elegantly proportioned porticos and exquisite decorative taste. On Via della Vigna Vecchia, the palace boasts two wine windows; one to the right of the main building entrance, and a second one lower down on the left, which would have had direct access to the adjoining cellars. Higher up, near number 17/r, a small, perhaps Franciscan, coat of arms can be seen, attesting to the ancient ownership of that property by a religious institution.

The building, founded in the 14th century, was expanded by the Del Niente family in the last quarter of the 15th century before becoming the property of the Libri family. In Via delle Burella 12, there are also evident remains of a 14th-century tower attached to the palace, which extends up to the current third floor.

The second part of the club, located on the ground floor, extends into Palazzo Covoni delle Burella, at the corner of Via della Vigna Vecchia 9, Via dell’Acqua 2r, 4r, and 6r, and Via delle Burella.The Covoni family achieved great fame between the 14th and 15th centuries, not only for their solid wealth derived from commercial and credit activities but also for the numerous political offices they held in the Florentine Republic.

The large and austere building, also of 14th-century origin, has been recently restored after the damage suffered from the 1966 flood. It has preserved the visible design of the four arches on the ground floor and, on the first floor, the original ashlar masonry. Its facades show the signs of numerous subsequent interventions (remodelling of the arches, and so on), making its appearance decidedly fragmented today. An intervention with a faux graffito brickwork on Via della Vigna Vecchia further breaks the overall design.

Full Up Club therefore represents not only a landmark for Florentine nightlife but also a living piece of the city’s rich architectural and cultural history.