The Uffizi Gallery, or Galleria degli Uffizi, in Florence, is among the most visited museums in Italy, second only to the Vatican Museums in Rome, and one of the best known museums in the world. Most of the works displayed here are Renaissance masterpieces, but there are also classical sculptures, prints, and drawings.
A monumental collection of works by Italian and international art masters, mostly from the 12th to 17th centuries, such as Botticelli, Giotto, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, are displayed in chronological order in the famous museum next to Piazza della Signoria. In the center of Florence. Every year, more than a million visitors (10,000 a day) from all over the world flock to the museum, which is organized in a U-shaped maze of more than 60 rooms with impressive frescoed ceilings.
Learn the history of the Uffizi
The de ‘Medici dynasty bequeathed to the state of Tuscany the precious art and treasures of the family, acquired over some 300 years of political, financial and cultural achievements between the 1500s and 1800s that led to the flowering of the Renaissance and cemented the dominance of the family. . from Florence The gift was a legacy: a “public and inalienable public good” that would “adorn the state, be of use to the public and attract the curiosity of foreigners.” The art was kept in the Uffizi (“offices” in Italian) , which were transformed into a large museum, the Uffizi Gallery.
In 1560, Cosimo I de ‘Medici, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, ordered the construction of the Renaissance Uffizi to house the administrative and judicial offices of Florence. It was completed in 1574 and in 1581, the next Grand Duke established a private gallery at the Uffizi to house the family’s magnificent private collection of art objects. Each member of the dynasty expanded the collection until the dynasty ended in 1743, when the last Grand Duke of ‘Medici, Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, perished without producing a male heir.
She left the vast collection to the state of Tuscany.
Plan your trip to the Uffizi
Since the museum is almost as well known for its long visitor lines as it is for its art, it’s best to plan ahead.
Due to recent changes in the bureaucratic relationship between Italian museums and the Italian government, the official Uffizi website is a basic site with limited information and no tools for booking tickets, as it had previously.
Visit Uffizi.org for information and advice
An alternative non-profit website created by friends of the Uffizi — Uffizi.org Guide to Uffizi Gallery Museum — contains general information about the museum, its history, and its offerings.
For potential visitors, the site includes how to find the museum, how it is organized, and the museum’s hours. It also includes information on admission and tickets, including how to book tickets and how to book tours, which are sold through third-party travel agencies.
To help you navigate the museum and decide in advance what you want to focus on, here are some room information tips.
Highlights of the Uffizi Gallery
Room 2, 13th century Tuscan School and Giotto: the beginnings of Tuscan art, with paintings by Giotto, Cimabue and Duccio di Boninsegna.
Room 7, Early Renaissance: works of art from the early Renaissance by Fra Angelico, Paolo Uccello and Masaccio.
Room 8, Lippi Room: paintings by Filippo Lippi, including a beautiful “Madonna and Child”, and the Piero della Francesco painting by Federico da Montefeltro, a truly iconic portrait work.
Rooms 10 – 14, Botticelli: some of the most iconic allegorical works of the Italian Renaissance by Sandro Botticelli, including “The Birth of Venus.”
Room 15, Leonardo da Vinci: dedicated to the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci ya artistas que lo inspiraron (Verrocchio) or lo admiraron (Luca Signorelli, Lorenzo di Credi, Perugino).
Room 25, Michelangelo: the “Sagrada Familia” by Michelangelo ( “Doni Tondo”), a round composition, surrounded by Mannerist paintings by Ghirlandaio, Fra Bartolomeo and others. (Traveler’s tip: Michelangelo’s most famous work in Florence, the sculpture “David”, is in the Accademia).
Room 26, Rafael and Andrea del Sarto: approximately seven works by Rafael and four works by Andrea del Sarto, including his portraits of Popes Julius II and Leo X and “Madonna del jilguero”. Also: “Madonna of the Harpies” by Andrea del Sarto.
Room 28, Titian: dedicated to Venetian painting, particularly that of Titian, with his “Venus of Urbino” among approximately a dozen of the artist’s paintings.
West Hallway, Sculpture Collection: numerous marble sculptures, but Baccio Bandinelli’s “Laocoon”, inspired by a Hellenistic work, is perhaps the best known.
Room 4 (first floor), Caravaggio: three of Caravaggio’s most famous paintings: “The Sacrifice of Isaac”, “Bacchus” and “Medusa”. Two other paintings from the Caravaggio School: “Judith Slaying Holofernes” (Artemisia Gentileschi) and “Salome with the head of John the Baptist” (Battistello).
In addition to the featured works listed above, the Uffizi Gallery also contains works by Albrecht Dürer, Giovanni Bellini, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, and countless other greats of Italian and international Renaissance art.
