In the mid-Seventeenth century a number of discrete ancient houses were combined and refurbished and turned into a noble palace by the artist Gherardo Silvani commissioned by Giovanni Andrea del Rosso. 

In 1860,  the Waldensian Faculty of Theology moved from Torre Pellice (Turin) to Florence and in 1861,  through the Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, the Waldensian Church received  the Ricasoli Salviati Palace as a gift from the Ricasoli family.

In 1862, the Claudiana Printing House moved from Turin to the same building and lastly, in 1863 the Waldensian Church opened a Temple there, which was used until 1959. The façade, the windows with a stained glass rose and the stucco cross are all that still stands.

The building housed the Waldensian Theological Faculty until 1922, and later the Gould Institute, first established in Rome in 1871 by the American Emily Gould as a centre for education and training. To this day the Waldensian Diaconia in Florence organises and manages services for children and young people: there are two sheltered houses for young people (male and female), a day centre, a place for supervised meetings and an independent apartment for young people over 18.

Palazzo Salviati also houses the Foresteria (Lodge) offering rooms suited to travellers and their families, in the heart of Florence’s centre, in the Oltrarno District.