Uffizi Gallery Florence
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is one of the most famous museums in the world. Thanks to its extraordinary collections of paintings and ancient statues, it is the main tourist attraction in Florence. The Uffizi hosts an exceptional artistic heritage, including thousands of paintings from medieval to modern times, ancient sculptures, and miniatures.
Its collections of paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries contain some absolute masterpieces of the art of all time. Among the artists who have contributed to enriching the Uffizi Gallery with their works, we can remember Giotto, Simone Martini, Beato Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Botticelli, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna, Correggio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Caravaggio.
We also find works by German, Dutch, and Flemish artists inside. Among these are Dürer, Rembrandt, and Rubens.
The Uffizi Gallery is located on the top floor of the large building built in the mid-16th century on the design of Giorgio Vasari. In the beginning, the palace was intended to house the administrative and judicial offices (Uffizi) of the Florentine State. It was built at the behest of Grand Duke Francesco I and enriched thanks to the contribution of the Medici family.
Subsequently, the Uffizi Gallery was rearranged and expanded under the Lorraine dynasty, who succeeded the Medici, and later by the Italian State.
Thanks to Vasari himself, a raised gallery was built, which, passing over the Ponte Vecchio and the church of Santa Felicita, connects the Uffizi Gallery with the new Medici residence of the Pitti Palace and ends in the Boboli Gardens.
The Vasari Corridor is a suspended corridor built in 1565 by Vasari and connects the Uffizi building with Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti. In the Vasari Corridor, important collections of paintings from the 17th century are also exhibited. Other important collections are hosted, such as the Contini Bonacossi Collection and the Uffizi Drawings and Prints Cabinet.