Another day and another adventure to discover the treasures of Florence. This time we are heading to the Uffizi. The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best-known in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance.
The building of the Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de’ Medici as a means to consolidate his administrative control of the various committees, agencies, and guilds established in Florence’s Republican past so as to accommodate them all one place, hence the name uffizi, “offices”.
After the ruling House of Medici died out, their art collections were given to the city of Florence under the famous Patto di famiglia negotiated by Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heiress. The Uffizi is one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1769 it was officially opened to the public, formally becoming a museum in 1865.
Uffizi is ranked as the 5th most visited art museum in the world, with around five million visitors annually. This marks the second time we have visited this wonderful museum, however, this time with wonderful guides and interpreters of the art – Elaine Ruffolo and Ross King.
It is actually difficult to only reflect on the highlights of the collection as there are so many that stand out.
After visiting the Uffizi we had free time to further explore but we opted to go back to our room and get ready for our trip to Rome the following day.
There are always small fruit stands along the way
However, that evening we had a ‘farewell to Florence Dinner’ at a lovely restaurant.
Again, wonderful memories of Florence for me. Vern thoroughly enjoyed the Uffizi art gallery and was more knowledgeable than me as he studied art in college. Wish I could return to Italy as we spent 6 wks roaming around Italy.