Uffizi Gallery
A voyage into the world's finest masterpieces in Florence
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence houses one of the most important collections of works of art in the world, both in quantity and quality, and is consequently one of the most famous and internationally visited museums.
In the palace built between 1560 and 1580, designed by Giorgio Vasari at the behest of Cosimo I de' Medici, is preserved the collection whose fundamental core derives from the Medici collections, over the centuries later enriched by bequests, exchanges and donations.
The rooms arranged by schools and styles in chronological order display not only the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, with the world's best collection of Florentine Renaissance works, but also masters from the German, Flemish, Dutch and French traditions.
One of the symbols of the museum is undoubtedly Sandro Botticelli: one of the largest existing collections of works by the artist is preserved here, and iconic paintings such as the Birth of Venus, the Primavera, the Madonna of the Magnificat, and the Madonna of the Pomegranate are admired here.
Leonardo da Vinci's masterpieces are also splendid, such as the Baptism of Christ executed in collaboration with master Verrocchio as his young pupil, the fascinating and unfinished Adoration of the Magi, and the youthful Annunciation, with its innovative setting.
To name a significant artist in the history of Italian art and not find one of his works in the Uffizi is almost impossible.
There is Mantegna with the Uffizi Triptych, Paolo Uccello with the monumental Battle of San Romano, and the painter Artemisia Gentileschi with her Judith Beheading Holofernes. Plus, Giotto, Perugino, Signorelli, Piero di Cosimo, Pontormo, Giorgione, Tintoretto and Correggio.
Among the most famous works: the double portrait painted by Piero della Francesca, titled The Dukes of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza; Raffaello's delicate Madonna of the Goldfinch; Caravaggio's masterpieces such as Bacchus and the impressive Medusa; Michelangelo's Tondo Doni, his only painting visible in Florence; and Tiziano's sensual Venus of Urbino.
Also notable is the presence of the great masters of European art: El Greco, Velasquez, Goya, Rembrandt, Rubens, Dürer and the 15th-century Flemish Hans Memling.
The Uffizi includes the Vasari Corridor (temporarily closed), the extraordinary elevated passageway that connects Palazzo Vecchio with Palazzo Pitti, passing over Ponte Vecchio. Built by Giorgio Vasari, it was designed to allow the Grand Dukes to move safely between the government palace and their private residence. Self-portraits and works from the 17th and 18th centuries that are part of the Uffizi collection hang on the walls.
Accessibility information: uffizi.it
