Palazzo Pitti - Palace Florence

Pitti palace in Florence, Galleria Palatina and Boboli Gardens

The enormous Palazzo Pitti is a palace in Florence Italy with beautiful works of art in the Galleria Palatina and surrounded by the famous Boboli gardens.

Palazzo Pitti: a rival palace for the Medici

The Palazzo Pitti was commissioned by Luca Pitti, a Florentine banker. Construction of the Pitti Palace started in 1457 and its design is attributed to Brunelleschi. You can see from the sheer size of the palace in Florence that the Pittis tried to outdo the Medicis with their palace. That is why it is so painful that the Medici took over the palace, when the Pittis could no longer bear the construction costs in 1549. The palace remained in the hands of the Medici until 1737, after which it fell into the hands of the Habsburg Lorraine family. After this, Napoleon Bonaparte stayed here for a while. At the time of the unification of Italy, the palace passed back to the Italian royal family.

^{The impressive Pitti palace in Firenze}

^{Palazzo Pitti with the Galleria Palatina}

The rooms in the palace

When you visit the Pitti Palace, there are a number of rooms that you must see. Behind the Palazzo is the famous Boboli gardens with famous works of art and the grotta grande. The Palazzo courtyard was designed by Bartolomeo Ammanati. The most famous room in the palace, however, is the Galleria Palatina with various rooms containing well-known Italian works of art. You also have the Galleria d’Arte Moderna with contemporary art, the Museo degli Argenti (silverware museum), the Galleria del Costume (Museum of Costumes and Fashion) and the Appartimenti Reali (Royal apartments).

Galleria Palatina

The Galleria Palatina is the heart of the Pitti Palace. Here you will find works of art by Botticelli, Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio and Rafael, among others. These works have been collected by both the Medici’s and the Lorraine. The original arrangement of the paintings has been left as the original families had placed the paintings. The Galleria consists of eleven rooms, the first five of which contain ceiling frescoes in honor of the honor and glory of the Medici's.

^{The palace from the Boboli Gardens}

^{Beautiful rooms at the Galleria Palatina}

Appartamenti Reali

You can visit the royal apartments of the Italian monarchs on the first floor in a side wing of the Palazzo. Built in the seventeenth century, these rooms are decorated with frescoes by various artists, portraits of the Medici and a number of eighteenth-century gobelins. The rooms in which the Lorraine family resided are furnished in a more neoclassical style.

Other museums of the palace

The summer quarters of the Medici's have now been converted into the Silverware Museum, showcasing the families' tastes in valuable objects. Open to the public since 1983, the Galleria del Costume showcases the changing tastes at court when it comes to clothing. The Galleria d'Arte Moderna displays works of art by the Macchiaioli, a group of artists from Tuscany who resembled the French Impressionists in style.

Where is Palazzo Pitti in Florence?