The History and the Place : The building which hosts the Uffizi Gallery, is one of the master pieces of XVI century architecture. Projected in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari, court architect and painter , by request of the Duce Cosimo I de' Medici, this vast and scenographic building, created in only five years, is connected to Palazzo Vecchio via the famous Vasariano corridor, and with Palazzo Pitti, home of the Royal Palace. The building was originally built for the offices of the aristocracy but it was soon used for art collections. With the death of Vasari and of Cosimo I, the Granduce Francesco I, decided to use the upper floors of the building as a gallery and in 1581 commissioned elegant grotesque fresco decorations in the oriental corridor. In 1584, he had the "Tribuna" built by Bernardo Buontalenti, where the most precious works of art were kept and already open to the public on request in the '600's. The successor of Francesco I, his brother Ferdinando I, enriched the families collection and enlarged the building. During the XVII and XVIII centuries, the fresco decorations of the volts in the western and northern corridors were completed, using Florentine glories as subject matter and the Palace was enriched with a "Vestibolo" (1704), presently used as an exit to the stairs of Buontalenti. Last century the external decoration of the palace with the twentyeight famous Florentines was completed (1835).

The Collections. The collection's history and the successive acquisitions by the Gallery, starting from Francesco I, is strictly connected to the antiquarian interests of the Medici family. In 1737 Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici restricted the Uffizi collections to the city of Florence. During the Granducato of Pietro Leopoldo a great rise in the acquisitions took place. Fortunatly the requisitions of the French Revolution affected the Gallery very little and during the 800's, also following the uniting of Tuscany to Italy in 1859, the Uffizi acquired state dimensions.

The Works. Exhibited in the Gallery are numerous works of Italian and European master pieces. The rooms dedicated to the Senese paintings include the "Annunciazione" by Simone Martini (1333) and the works by Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti: the Pala of the "Beata Umiltà" by Pietro and the "Presentazione della Vergine al Tempio" painted by his brother Ambrogio. Dedicated to Giotto is another room, with works by Taddeo Gaddi, by Giottino (the famous "Deposizione dalla Croce"), by Andrea Orcagna (the Polittico by Ognissanti). The international Gothic is represented by the works of Lorenzo Monaco (l'Adorazione dei Magi, 1422) and above of all by the refined and elaborate table of Gentile da Fabriano which depicts the same subject matter and is considered almost the stereo type of taste and desire of the time. The 400's is still documented by the important table of Masaccio and Masolino, the "Madonna col Bambino e Sant'Anna" which are paired with the "Incoronazione della Vergine" by Beato Angelico and the "Battaglia di San Romano" by Paolo Uccello. A lot of space is dedicated to Filippo Lippi and the paintings of the mid 400's : the "Incoronazione della Vergine", painted by the master, and between 1441 and 1447 are some works by the Pollaiolo brothers and the "Ciclo delle Allegorie delle Virtù", executed by the only Piero. The lively cultural climate tied to Lorenzo il Magnifico is shown in the works of Sandro Botticelli: "Pallade e il Centauro", "Primavera", "Nascita di Venere", "Adorazione dei Magi", "Madonna del Magnificat" and that of Melagrana, apart from the other paintings from the last part of the artist's life, marked by the restlessness caused by the sermons of Savonarola ("Incoronazione della Vergine" and "Allegoria della Calunnia"). There are many works by the Tuscan manierists, (the "Mosè che difende le figlie di Jetro" stands out done in1523 by Rosso Fiorentino and the "Cena in Emmaus", work of Pontormo) whilst Venitian art from the XV and XVI centuries has been given a lot of space : here is the "Allegoria sacra" by Giovanni Bellini, the "Ritratto di Capitano con scudiero" by Giorgione and works by Tiziano (to whom an entire room is dedicated). Important works from the 600's, amongst which the "Bacco" and the "Sacrificio di Isacco" by Caravaggio, as well as some canvases by Rembrandt (Self portrait 1634 and Ritratto di Vecchio) and some paintings from the 700's (Canaletto, Piazzetta, Tiepolo, Guardi) are in the final part of the exhibition. In the 'Vasariano' corridor there is also an extensive collection of self portraits by artists from the XVI to the XX century.

The Tuscan Two hundreds and Three hundreds.
The starting point of the fascinating itinerary which unravels itself along six centuries of Italian painting contains three works of capital importance. They are the "Madonna Rucellai" by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1285), the "Madonna di Santa Trinità" by Cimabue (1280) and the "Madonna di Ognissanti" by Giotto (1310). By confronting these three masterpeices it's possible to grasp the evolution of Italian art from the extreem Bizantine tradition to the modern solutions in plastic and crome by Giotto.

The five hundreds. The great season of Italian art, between the end of the XV and the XVI century is documented by masterpeices such as the works of Leonardo: the "Adorazione dei Magi" (1481),the "Battesimo di Cristo" (1470, attributed to Verrocchio, where the young Leonardo creates the angel to the left and the landscape) and the young "Annunciazione" (1470-75); by Raffaello: the Madonna del Cardellino (1506), Leone X and two Cardinali (1512); by Tiziano: La Flora (1515) and the Venere di Urbino (1538). Of capital impotrance - Tondo Doni, painted by Michelangelo in 1504.

New restaurations. The spaces occupied by the ancient Florentine tribunals on the ground floor, between the Vasariano and Magliabechiano staircase, have been dedicated to receiving the public. Here are the ticket offices, wardrobes, information offices, and the library with a souvenier department. In the east wing of the monumental building the famous Magliabechiana library returns to it's prior glory, originally created by Cosimo III's librarian, Antonio Magliabechi. Occupied by the Government Archives in 1935 , and after their transferal, used as an emergency laboratory and storage. During the restauration the decorations from the 700's were saved with their happy scenes and beautiful ceilings thus returning the library to its previous glory as the most suggestive History of Art Library in Italy with over 60.000 volums and rare manuscripts. Also reopened are the Niobe rooms, badly damaged during the attack in 1993. The best work of reconstruction of the neo-classical museum, the room was created and projected in 1771-75 by Zanobi del Rosso with work by Giacomo Abertolli. The original colours have been used - "white, gold and light colours" and the original green "lorena" for the walls destined to host the large paintings of Rubens and Susterman.

"Contini-Bonacossi"collection
Uffizi complex, via Lambertesca
Following the traumatic explosion in 1993, and after important restauration work, the large Contini Bonacossi collection has been moved to the western part of the Uffizi with works from the 300's. It has 144 peices including sculptures and paintings, antique furniture, terracotta and ceramics from the 400 and 500's. Amongst the paintings, works by Duccio da Buoninsegna, Bellini, Veronese, a splendid affresco by Andrea del Castagno from the Castello di Trebbio, Tintoretto, Goya, Velazquez. To be noted is the "Madonna della Neve", by Sassetta, the "San Girolamo" by Giovanni Bellini and the "Martirio di San Lorenzo" by Bernini.