The Uffizi Gallery is one of the most famous art museums in the world. Home to some of the best examples of Italian Renaissance painting and sculpture, artists from all over Europe are represented here as well. Construction was started in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari (and finished in 1581 by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti) under the reign of Cosimo I de Medici, the first of the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany, as the offices of the Florentine government. The offices are connected to Palazzo Pitti, which was the home of the Medici royal family, by the ‘Vasari Corridor’ – a hallway leading from Palazzo Vecchio, through the Uffizi, over a loggia on the bank of the Arno, across the river on the Ponte Vecchio and through two blocks of Florentine houses to the Palazzo. The corridor was built so that the Medici could commute from their house to their seat of government without having to walk on the streets.
The building began to be used as a display for artworks while it was still in use by the Medici as their offices. The office space was frequently home to many artworks purchased by or commissioned by the family, and artists such as Michelangelo frequently came to the Uffizi to be inspired. After the royal Medici house was extinguished, the building immediately became a museum and is considered one of the first modern museums in the world. The Uffizi has been open to visitors (by request) since the 1500's but became open to the public as a museum in 1765. As the museum has grown in size, many pieces of the collection have been transferred to other museums (such as a number of sculptures to the Bargello). In 1993, the Uffizi was the victim of a bombing. A car exploded on a nearby street, killing five people and damaging parts of the palace. The most serious damage was done to the Niobe room, which has since been restored although some works of art have been damaged beyond repair. The bombers were never caught, although the crime is frequently attributed to the Sicilian Mafia.
Today the building houses a number of famous, works. The best-known paintings are two works by Botticelli: Primavera and The Birth of Venus. But there are a several famous artists represented here, including Giotto, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael and Caravaggio, to name a few. The café is on top of the Loggia in Piazza della Signoria and it offers an up-close view of Palazzo Vecchio as well as a good view of the square below and the Duomo in the distance. There are also excellent views down the Arno River from the windows inside the gallery space. If you can’t make it into the gallery, at least walk through the courtyard. The courtyard itself is very aesthetically pleasing, connecting Palazzo Vecchio to the Arno River, and is lined with sculptures of some of the most famous Italian artists such as Michelangelo and Donatello.
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