Pitti Square is probably the most famous among Oltrarno's squares; it is characterized by the imposing palace and counts to the few Florentine squares built without a religious function.The square was conceived in 1440, when the bankier Luca Pitti decided to build a very big palace in order to show to the whole city how rich and powerful his family was.The ambitious project included a square in front of the palace: for its building Luca Pitti bought and demolished all the houses flanking a part of the street Borgo di Piazza (today: Via Guicciardini). This open place was soon called «Via del Palagio dei Pitti» ("Street of the Pitti's palace"), but the building of the palace and of the whole square remained uncompleted due to its frightening cost - even for the so rich Luca Pitti such an adventure proved soon to be too expensive.