Since 1988, the residence of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore has been at Via della Canonica, no. 1, in the palazzo that from 1461 until 1867 was the residence of the Archdeacon of the Florentine Chapter. The original headquarters in Piazza del Duomo since 1432, had become insufficient and necessary to expand the adjoining Museum. The archidiaconal residence rises on an area tied since time immemorial to church activities. Here lived the canons, clergymen, priests, chaplains and everyone who dedicated himself to the functions of the Baptistery and the Cathedral. They occupied the houses of the Visdomini, or Vice-domini, the family assigned to defend the interests of the Bishop in his absence. The Visdomini houses were in an area delimited by Via dello Scheletro (today’s Via della Canonica), Via delle Oche, Via del Transito (today’s Via dello Studio) and Via della Morte (Via del Campanile). When the Visdomini family died out, the responsibility was passed to the Cortigiani and then to the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore.
In 1339, the Opera ordered the demolition of the Visdomini houses in order to enlarge and rearrange the square around the new Cathedral under construction. Only one tower was spared that dates to the XII century and still exists, incorporated in the headquarters of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore.