All SEE in Florence

Palazzo Levi is a large civil building in the historic center of Florence, located in Piazza della Repubblica. It stands at the corner of Via de’ Brunelleschi, Via de’ Tosinghi, and Via Roma, one of the most central urban areas in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The palace is also known as Palazzo della Fondiaria Assicurazioni, because from 1893 it became connected with Fondiaria Assicurazioni. It was built between 1890 and 1893, during the major redevelopment of the old central district around today’s Piazza della Repubblica. Palazzo Levi is important because it occupies the site of the former Jewish Ghetto of Florence. Its history connects the medieval city, the nineteenth-century transformation of Florence, the rise of bourgeois architecture, and the modern commercial life of Piazza della Repubblica. The building is not a Renaissance palace in the historical sense. It is a Neo-Renaissance palace, designed in the late nineteenth century by the architect Giuseppe Boccini. Its monumental façade, large scale, and central position make it a visible landmark in the urban fabric of central Florence. Today, Palazzo Levi forms an entire block and includes important commercial and institutional spaces. On the ground floor are the historic cafés Gilli and Paszkowski, two well-known addresses Read more [...]

Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide The Baptistery of San Giovanni is one of the defining monuments of Florence, located in Piazza del Duomo, directly in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence, it stands at the religious and civic center of the historic city. The building is also known as the Florence Baptistery or the Baptistery of Saint John. It belongs to the monumental complex of Piazza del Duomo, together with Florence Cathedral, Brunelleschi’s Dome, Giotto’s Bell Tower, Santa Reparata, and the Opera del Duomo Museum. The baptistery has an octagonal plan, a diameter of 25.6 meters, three monumental portals, and 24 windows. Its exterior is covered with geometric patterns in white and green marble, while the interior was designed for baptism, civic ceremony, liturgy, and large public gatherings. The monument is especially famous for its bronze doors, the marble floor, the matroneum, the Roman and medieval sepulchres, and the great mosaic cycle that covers the vault. The original bronze doors are now preserved in the Opera del Duomo Museum, while copies stand on the building. Today, the Baptistery of San Giovanni is part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre Read more [...]

Piazza della Repubblica is one of the main squares in Florence, located in the historic center of the city, within the UNESCO-listed area. The rectangular square measures about 75 meters by 100 meters, covers roughly 7,500 square meters, and stands around 250 meters from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The square is one of the clearest examples of how Florence changed between ancient times, the Middle Ages, and the late 19th century. Its modern appearance belongs mainly to the Risanamento, the large urban redevelopment that transformed the old central market area after Florence became capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Today, Piazza della Repubblica is a pedestrian and commercial space, bordered by historic cafés, hotels, shops, porticoes, and 19th-century buildings. It is crossed by central streets such as Via Roma, Via degli Speziali, Via degli Strozzi, Via dei Brunelleschi, Via Pellicceria, and Calimala.   Short History of Piazza della Repubblica The Roman Forum of Florentia Piazza della Repubblica has been connected with the center of Florence since Roman times. In ancient Florentia, this area corresponded to the Roman forum, the main public space where the city’s most important civic, commercial, and religious functions were concentrated. The Roman layout Read more [...]

The Basilica di Santo Spirito (Basilica of the Holy Spirit) is a Renaissance-style church in Florence, located in the Oltrarno district, in Piazza Santo Spirito.   SHORT HISTORY In 1250, Spinello Accolti and Omodeo di Guido donated to the Augustinian friar Aldobrandino a house and two vineyards in the Oltrarno area for the construction of a church, which was originally dedicated, in 1252, to the Virgin Mary, to the Holy Spirit and to all the Saints. In 1269, a community of Augustinian friars settled permanently in Florence, and began on this site the construction of a church dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Starting with 1397, the Municipality provided funds for the construction of a new basilica, but the work began only in 1434, when the project was entrusted to Filippo Brunelleschi. After the death of Brunelleschi in 1446, the construction site passed into the hands of his three disciples, Antonio Manetti, Giovanni da Gaiole and Salvi d’Andrea. In 1471, a serious fire destroyed many works of art in the church. Salvi d’Andrea built the dome between 1479 and 1481, and the internal facade between 1483 and 1487. Consecrated in 1481, the basilica was completed in 1487. Giuliano da Sangallo’s sacristy Read more [...]

The Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata is a church in Florence, located in the homonymous square, in the northern part of the historical center of the city.   SHORT HISTORY According to tradition, a small oratory dedicated to the Virgin was built on this area in 1081. Around 1233, the abandoned oratory was taken over by the Servants of Mary. In 1250, the Servants of Mary laid the first stone for the construction of a larger basilica. The church and the adjoining convent were dedicated to Santa Maria dei Servi, from the name of the religious order. In 1252, according to legend, the Servants of Mary commissioned a painter called Bartolomeo to paint a fresco of the Annunciation. Despite several attempts, the painter could not paint the face of the Virgin. One day, Bartolomeo fell asleep, and when he woke up, by a miracle, the painting was completed. The fresco became the object of great veneration and deep devotion of the Florentines. Towards the end of the 13th century, the floor of the church was redone and the choir stalls were carved by master Guglielmo of Calabria. In the first half of the 14th century, various chapels and altars were Read more [...]

The Church of San Salvatore in Ognissanti, or simply the Church of Ognissanti (Church of All Saints), is a church in Florence, located in the homonymous square.   SHORT HISTORY In 1239, the Humiliati arrived in Florence, and settled outside the city. In 1251, they started a church as part of a larger conventual complex. In 1571, the order of the Humiliati was suppressed at the behest of Cosimo I, and the Franciscans replaced them in the convent. Renovation work began immediately. Two cloisters were built, and the church was rededicated in 1582 to San Salvatore. In 1627, the interior of the church was restructured to a design by the architect Matteo Segaloni, commissioned by Ferdinando II de’ Medici. New altars, paintings and sculptures embellished the church. In 1637, the facade in Baroque style was completed by Matteo Nigetti. In 1872, the facade was completely redone in travertine.   ART AND ARCHITECTURE The facade of the church develops on three levels. The lower one has a large portal in the center, flanked by two niches. The portal has a lunette with the Coronation of the Virgin and Saints by Benedetto Buglioni. The second order has a niche in the center Read more [...]

Palazzo Lenzi is a palace in Florence, located in Piazza Ognissanti, in the western part of the historical center of the city.   SHORT HISTORY The palace was built around the year 1470 by the Lenzi family on a design by an unknown architect. The Lenzi family resided in the palace until the middle of the 17th century, when the palace was bought by the Buini family, who modernized the interior. In 1765, the palace passed to the Quaratesi family. In the 19th century, Palazzo Lenzi was used as a hotel, under the name of Locanda di Russia. Around the middle of the 19th century, the whole area changed its appearance, with the construction of Palazzo Giuntini and the Hotel Excelsior. At the end of the 19th century, the palace was purchased by the antiquarian Luigi Pisani, who began a series of important restorations. The works were supervised by the architect Luigi Del Moro and the painter Pietro Baldancoli. After the restorations were completed, Luigi Pisani placed his art and antiques gallery in the palace. In 1908, the palace became the seat of the French Institute of the University of Grenoble. Then, in 1912, it became the seat of the Read more [...]

Palazzo Corsini al Parione is one of the most sumptuous private palaces in Florence, located on the homonymous Lungarno Corsini, halfway between Ponte Santa Trinita and Ponte alla Carraia.   SHORT HISTORY Until the 16th century, there were various buildings on this area, the most important of them being the Casino del Parione and the house of the lawyer Tommaso Compagni, decorated by a fresco with the Nine Muses by Bernardino Poccetti. The land was owned first by the Marquis of Marignano, then by Giovanni de’ Medici, son of Cosimo I and Eleonora degli Albizi. In 1621, the property passed to Cardinal Giovan Carlo de’ Medici, and in 1640 it was sold to Maddalena Machiavelli, mother of Bartolomeo Corsini. Bartolomeo Corsini began the construction of a new building in 1656, initially with the contribution of the architect Alfonso Parigi the Younger, who was succeeded later by Ferdinando Tacca, and by Pierfrancesco Silvani. After Silvani’s death in 1685, the work was continued by Antonio Maria Ferri, who gave the current appearance to the structure: the three bodies articulated around a central courtyard, the monumental staircase and the facade on Lungarno Corsini. Today, the palace is still partly inhabited by the descendants Read more [...]

Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte is a palace in Florence, located on Lungarno Corsini, about 60 meters away from Ponte Santa Trinita.   SHORT HISTORY Until the end of the 18th century, Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte was the property of the noble Gianfigliazzi family, who also owned the adjacent Palazzo Gianfigliazzi. In 1825, the palace was bought by Louis Bonaparte, the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the former King of Holland in exile. Later, the palace was used as a hotel called Delle Quattro Nazioni (Of the Four Nations). In 1827, as a plaque on the facade recalls, the Italian writer and poet Alessandro Manzoni lived there for a month. Around the middle of the 19th century, the palace was owned by the Lamporecchi family, who sold it to the Belgian Van der Linden d’Hooghvorst. At that time, the building was restored by the architect Bartolommeo Silvestri, who rearranged the windows on the facade and closed the panoramic loggia on the top floor. Changes were also made to the interior, where the halls were renovated to host sumptuous receptions. At the end of the 19th century, Palazzo Gianfigliazzi Bonaparte was sold to the Cesaroni Venanzi family. Today, it belongs to the Campodonico Read more [...]

Palazzo Gianfigliazzi is a palace in Florence, located on Lungarno Corsini, about 50 meters away from Ponte Santa Trinita.   SHORT HISTORY The palace was built by the Ruggerini family in the 13th century, then passed to the Fastelli-Petribuoni family. At the beginning of the 15th century, it became the property of the Gianfigliazzi family. In the 17th century, the palace was renovated by the architect Gherardo Silvani. Towards the middle of the following century, it was rented to Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern, wife of Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the English throne. In 1853, the building passed to the Masetti family, who enlarged it by one floor and changed the arrangement of the windows on the facade. Today, Palazzo Gianfigliazzi belongs to a real estate company, and houses the 4-Star hotel Palazzo Alfieri Residenza d’Epoca.   HOW TO GET THERE Palazzo Gianfigliazzi is located about 1 kilometer away from the Santa Maria Novella railway station. The closest bus stop is Frescobaldi, located in Piazza de’ Frescobaldi, about 180 meters away, on the bus Lines 11, C3 and C4.

Ponte Santa Trinita is a beautiful bridge in Florence, located on the Arno River, which connects Piazza Santa Trinita to Piazza de’ Frescobaldi.   SHORT HISTORY Ponte Santa Trinita was built in wood in 1252, thanks to Filippo Ugoni, Mayor of Florence, at the behest of the noble Frescobaldi family, and took the name of the nearby Basilica of Santa Trinita. In 1259, the bridge collapsed under the weight of the crowd watching a show on the Arno. It was rebuilt in stone, but was destroyed again by the great flood of 1333. The subsequent rebuilding lasted fifty years, and was completed in 1415. In 1557, Ponte Santa Trinita was again deteriorated by a flood, and Cosimo I commissioned Bartolomeo Ammannati to build a new bridge, based on a design by Michelangelo. The construction began in 1567, and the work was completed in 1571. The bridge was destroyed by the retreating Germans on August 4, 1944, at the end of the Second World War. In 1952, the architect Riccardo Gizdulich began to supervise the reconstruction works, together with the engineer Emilio Brizzi. The reconstructed bridge was inaugurated on March 16, 1958.   ART AND ARCHITECTURE The bridge is built in Read more [...]

Palazzo della Borsa is a large palace in Florence, located on Lungarno Diaz, about 100 meters away from the Uffizi Gallery.   SHORT HISTORY The area in which the palace currently stands was occupied until the mid-19th century by Tiratoio delle Grazie, an edifice belonging to the guild of Arte della Lana (Wool Art). When the ancient guilds were dissolved by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, the site was chosen for a large building suitable for housing the Chamber of Commerce, the Stock Exchange and the Tuscan National Bank. Palazzo della Borsa was built between 1858 and 1860 on a project by the young architect Michelangelo Maiorfi, reworked with significant changes by Emilio De Fabris. Around 1915, the entrance from Piazza dei Giudici was opened, and some internal works were carried out based on a project by the architect Ugo Giusti. An intervention by the architect Ezio Cerpi, which led to the raising of the entire attic, thus obtaining the second floor and bringing the structure to its current volume, is dated to 1931. The smooth plaster on the facade and the construction of a large hall in the eastern side of the palace, intended for the Stock Exchange, date Read more [...]

Palazzo Malenchini Alberti is a palace in Florence, located in Via dei Benci, at the intersection with Lungarno Generale Diaz.   SHORT HISTORY The noble family of Alberti di Catenaia settled in this area of Florence in the first half of the 13th century. The family purchased several properties and merged them to form a large structure in which they resided. Between 1760 and 1763, the fronts of the buildings were unified into a single facade, on the initiative of Giovan Vincenzo Alberti, Count of the Holy Roman Empire. Giovan Vincenzo’s son, Leon Battista, died without heirs in 1836, and the palace passed to a nephew belonging to the Mori Ubaldini family. Between 1838 and 1839, the new family renovated the palace, under the direction of the architect Vittorio Bellini. Other interventions took place between 1849 and 1851 by the architects Odoardo Razzi and Niccolò Salvi. The first created the Neo-Renaissance facade, inaugurated in 1850. The second took care of the loggia on the northern side of the palace’s garden. At the end of the 19th century, the palace was bought at auction by the Dukes of Chaulnes, distant descendants of the Alberti. In 1887, they left Florence, and the Read more [...]

Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide Piazza Santa Croce is a beautiful square in Florence, located in the eastern part of the historical center of the city.   SHORT HISTORY On this area, in ancient times, there was an island formed by two arms of the Arno River. The Franciscans, who arrived in Florence around 1226, chose this isolated area for their settlement. Similarly to Piazza Santa Maria Novella, where the Dominicans settled, Piazza Santa Croce was born about a century later, to accommodate the crowds of faithful arriving on pilgrimage to the Basilica of Santa Croce. During the Renaissance, the rectangular shape of the square made it the ideal place for knightly jousting, games and popular competitions, such as Calcio Storico Fiorentino. In Piazza Santa Croce, took place the famous game of February 17, 1530, during the siege of the city. Around that time, the square was bordered by wooden barriers that permanently delimited the area destined for games. At the end of the 18th century, under the rule of Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the wooden barriers were replaced by stone pillars that can still be seen today.   ARCHITECTURE The most important building in Piazza Santa Croce is, Read more [...]

Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, also known as Palazzo Lavison, is an imposing palace in Florence, located in Piazza della Signoria, across the square from Palazzo Vecchio.   SHORT HISTORY Around 1864, some buildings in the area, such as the ancient Tower of the Infangati (Torre degli Infangati), the Church of Santa Cecilia, the seat of Arte del Cambio and the Pisani Loggia (Loggia dei Pisani), were demolished. In 1871, the Baron Edoardo Lavison commissioned the architect Giovanni Carlo Landi to build a palace in their place. In 1872, on the corner with Via Vacchereccia, the Rivoire Café was opened by the chocolatier and pastry chef Enrico Rivoire, which became over time one of the most famous places in Florence. After it was owned by the Fenzi banking family, the palace was purchased at the beginning of the 20th century by the Assicurazioni Generali company. Between 2010 and 2011, the palace was the subject of a structural consolidation and rehabilitation intervention. It was inaugurated in January 2012, under the new name of Palazzo del Leone.   ARCHITECTURE The facade of the palace develops on four floors. On the ground floor, there are 9 arches occupied by large windows, except for the Read more [...]

Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide Piazza Santa Maria Novella is a beautiful square in Florence, located in the western part of the historical center of the city.   SHORT HISTORY The square was built starting with 1287 on the initiative of the Municipality of Florence, and completed around 1325. Later, the square became, thanks to its size, the setting for competitions such as Palio dei Cocchi (a race with carriages), established by Cosimo I in 1563. The two marble obelisks, works of Bartolomeo Ammannati, were erected around the same time. Closed to traffic in the late 1980s, the square was recently restylized, and a new pavement was added.   ARCHITECTURE The facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella dominates the square. Completed in Renaissance style by Leon Battista Alberti in 1470, at the behest of the wealthy merchant Giovanni Rucellai, the beautiful facade of the church can be admired from any point in the square. On the southern side of Piazza Santa Maria Novella, there is the loggia of the Hospital of Saint Paul (Ospedale di San Paolo), founded in the 13th century and enlarged in the 15th century, with the addition of a portico. Today, the building houses Museo Read more [...]

The Church of San Salvatore al Monte is a Catholic church in Florence, located on the hill known as Monte delle Croci, not far from the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte.   SHORT HISTORY At the beginning of the 15th century, on this site was a Franciscan chapel. The chapel was enlarged in the first half of the century, and the works were completed around 1442. In the last decades of the 15th century, the church was renovated by the architect Simone del Pollaiolo, also known as Il Cronaca, by the will of the rich merchant Castello Quaratesi. The renovation started in 1499, and was completed in 1504. During the Siege of 1529, the church was badly damaged, and throughout the 16th century was left in a state of neglect. In 1665, the friars definitively left San Salvatore al Monte. In 1875, Piazzale Michelangelo was built nearby.   ART AND ARCHITECTURE The facade of the church, very simple and framed by the typical Tuscan cypresses, has plastered surfaces interrupted only by the portal and the gable windows. Inside, the church has a single nave with five chapels on each side, marked by a double order of stone pilasters in Read more [...]

Piazza della Signoria is the main square of Florence, located in the historical center of the city, about 400 meters away from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.   SHORT HISTORY It appears that the area of the square was populated since the Neolithic, and it constituted an important fulcrum of the city of Florentia during the Roman times. In the 4th century, a large Christian basilica was built here, which remained in use until the 7th century. In the 8th century, the basilica was replaced with a church dedicated to Santa Cecilia. The square began to take its present shape around the year 1268, when the houses of the Ghibellines that resided in the area were demolished by the Guelphs who won the Battle of Benevento. Only in 1385, the square was paved for the first time. During the same 14th century, Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia della Signoria were built, and the square became the center of the political life of the city. The interventions in the following centuries mainly concerned the sculptural decoration of the square, and culminated during the Grand Ducal period with the transformation of Loggia della Signoria into an open-air museum. The construction of Read more [...]

The Basilica of San Lorenzo is a beautiful church in Florence, located in the historical center of the city, in Piazza di San Lorenzo.   SHORT HISTORY According to tradition, the church was built during the 4th century outside the walls of the ancient city. In 393, it was consecrated to the martyr Lawrence, in the presence of Saint Ambrose and Saint Zenobius. For the next 300 years, San Lorenzo was the Cathedral of Florence, before giving up the status to the Church of Santa Reparata, where the remains of San Zanobi, the first bishop of Florence, were solemnly transferred. In 1059, the church was enlarged and rededicated, on the initiative of the bishop Gherardo di Borgogna, when he became pope under the name of Niccolò II. In 1418, the abbot Matteo Dolfini obtained permission to demolish some houses to enlarge the transept of the church. Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, a wealthy banker, financed the construction and named Filippo Brunelleschi to direct the works. The sacristy was finished in 1428, but then the works were stopped. After 1441, Cosimo de’ Medici, Giovanni’s son, assumed the entire burden of the construction, and the direction of the works passed to Michelozzo, Read more [...]

The Basilica of San Miniato al Monte is a Romanesque church in Florence, located on one of the highest points in the city, in Via delle Porte Sante. San Miniato (Saint Minias) was an Armenian soldier, who was killed in the year 250 AD by the Roman soldiers of Emperor Decius, because he converted to Christianity, and Christians were persecuted at that time. He is considered the first martyr of the city and his remains are supposedly kept today in the crypt of San Miniato al Monte.   SHORT HISTORY The oldest historical evidence of a church dedicated to San Miniato dates back to the year 783. The building was neglected and unsafe, and the Florentine bishop Ildebrando began to build a new one on April 27, 1018. The church was finished two hundred years later, in the 13th century. In 1373, the Olivetan monks arrived in Florence, called by the Pope Gregorio XI, and settled in the monastery, where you can still find them today. The Chapel dedicated to the Cardinal Giacomo di Coimbra (Cardinal of Portugal) was built between 1461 and 1466 by Antonio Manetti and finished by Antonio Rossellino, after his death. During the 16th century, with Read more [...]

Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is a wonderful Dominican church located in Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, in the beautiful city of Florence.   SHORT HISTORY In 1219, twelve Dominicans arrived in Florence from Bologna, led by Fra’ Giovanni. In 1221, they obtained the small Church of Santa Maria delle Vigne, so called for the surrounding agricultural land. In 1242, the Dominicans decided to start work on a new and larger church. On October 18, 1279, during the feast of San Luca, the laying of the first stone was celebrated, with the blessing of Cardinal Latino Malabranca Orsini. The construction was completed around the middle of the 14th century, but the church was consecrated only in 1420, by Pope Martino V. Leon Battista Alberti designed the large central portal and the upper part of the facade, in white and dark green marble, which was completed in 1470. After the Council of Trent, between 1565 and 1571, the interior of the church was redesigned by Giorgio Vasari, with the removal of the choir enclosure and the reconstruction of the side altars, which led to the shortening of the Gothic windows. Between 1575 and 1577, the Gaddi Read more [...]

Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide Palazzo Pitti is an imposing Renaissance-style palace in Florence, located in Piazza dei Pitti. The palace was the residence of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and was inhabited, over time, by the Medici family, by the Habsburg-Lorraine and, after the Unification of Italy, by the Savoy. Palazzo Pitti hosts the Palatine Gallery, the Royal Apartments, the Apartment of the Duchess of Aosta, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Treasury of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the Costume Gallery, the Porcelain Museum and the Carriage Museum. The museal complex of Palazzo Pitti also includes the Boboli Gardens.   SHORT HISTORY Luca Pitti, a rival of the Medici family, desired a more luxurious palace than the one built by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder. Around 1440, Pitti entrusted the project to Filippo Brunelleschi, but the architect died long before the construction began, and the project passed to his pupil, Luca Fancelli. The construction was started around 1458, but, due to various design problems and financial difficulties, the works were temporarily interrupted in 1465. Luca Pitti died in 1472. Around 1550, Buonaccorso Pitti sold the palace to Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de’ Medici and daughter of Read more [...]

Palazzo dell’Antella is a palace with a beautiful frescoed facade in Florence, located in Piazza di Santa Croce, near the Basilica of Santa Croce.   SHORT HISTORY The first significant expansion of the palace dates back to the second half of the 16th century – the building was raised by a floor, including a mezzanine, and the wooden doors were replaced with stone ones, still visible today. The architect of the palace was probably someone from the circle of Baccio d’Agnolo. In the early 17th century, the palace passed to Senator Niccolò dell’Antella, through the dowry of his wife Costanza del Barbigia. In 1619, dell’Antella commissioned the architect Giulio Parigi to give a unified design to the properties the senator bought in Piazza di Santa Croce. To give a unified appearance to the adjacent buildings, the architect had the entire facade painted with frescoes. The paintings were made in just twenty days of work, between 1619 and 1620, by a team of thirteen young artists supervised by the painter Giovanni da San Giovanni. Dell’Antella died out in 1698 and, later, the palace passed by inheritance to the Dal Borgo family, then to Lotteringhi della Stufa and finally to de’ Nobili. Read more [...]

Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi) is the most visited Italian museum and the 11th art museum in the world, by the number of visits, with over 3 million visitors in 2016. Situated near Piazza della Signoria, in the historical center of Florence, the museum houses a collection of priceless works of art, most of them from the period of the Italian Renaissance.   SHORT HISTORY The building of the Uffizi Gallery was erected starting with 1560, at the request of Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de’ Medici. The original architect was Giorgio Vasari, one of the leading architects of the 15th century. The initial role of the building was to shelter the municipal offices (uffizi), hence the name, but for the next two hundred years the space brought together under one roof the art collections of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. In 1737, the last member of the Medici family, Anna Maria Luisa, decided to leave the art collections to the city of Florence. In 1769, the place was opened to the public, the first in Europe to be called a “museum”.   ART The art inside the Uffizi includes ancient and modern paintings Read more [...]