Overview
The Uffizi Art Museum is the greatest museum for Italian Renaissance paintings. Most of the other art forms are in the Bargello Museum. Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici built the building as offices for the Duchy. Uffizi in Italian means offices. Shaped as a long U, with galleries on two floors, running north and south, and built adjacent to his palace, the former Palazzo Signoria, the seat of Florence’s city government. In between the sides of its U is a narrow open courtyard.
History of Florence and the Medici Family
The Medici family was Florence’s most powerful family for several centuries, beginning in the late fourteenth century. Until 1520, the family ruled as merchants and bankers with little official power. The Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire conquered Florence and declared it a duchy under his control with Alessandro de’ Medici the first Duke of Florence.
Needing a bigger palace, Cosimo I moved the family’s home to the historical center of Florence Government, the Palazzo Signoria. He renamed it the Palazzo Vecchio. An office building for government officials was built adjacent to the Palazzo Vecchio, starting in 1560 and completed in 1581. In Italian, this was called the Uffizi.
In 1569, the emperor decided to promote the Duchy of Florence to a Grand Duchy, including most of Tuscany. Cosimo I de’ Medici became the first Grand Duke. The Grand Duchy continued until the creation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. However, the last Medici Grand Duke was Gian Gastone, who died in 1737. Leaving just one member of the Medici family. However, his sister, the widowย Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, was a woman.
Anna Maria is responsible for the Uffizi and much of Florence’s great art.
History of the Uffizi Art Museum
When Anna Maria Luisa died in 1743, the Medici line stretched back to Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici in 1397, died with her. However, she was a very smart woman and did not want to see the family’s treasures, collected over four centuries, fall into foreign hands. Although she could not inherit the throne as a woman, she did inherit the wealth.
In her will, she left all the Medici art, money, and treasures to the people of Florence with a few stipulations. First, the art and other treasures could never removed from Florence, or sold. Second, the art had to be displayed so the common people of Florence, not just the rich or nobles, could view it.
In 1584, the Grand Duke built a room to hold many of the Medici treasures. Over the years, they added more rooms until they displayed up to forty Medici artworks. Grand Duke Peter Leopold officially opened it to the public in 1769.
Visiting the Uffizi
The courtyard between the two Uffizi buildings is open all day. You can visit anytime without a ticket. The walls have niches with sculptures of famous Italians in the arts and sciences. However, one statue is different. It is the statue of Cosimo the Elder, the “Pater Patriae” (Father of the Fatherland).
The Uffizi is a popular museum, and lines can become frustratingly long. Purchase skip-the-line tickets ahead of time, and/or get there as early as possible. When I visited, there were no lines before 10 am. Also, there was already a queue to see the Treasure Room. Not to go to it. You get 15 to 20 seconds to look, and the attendant moves you on. To me, it was not worth an hour-long wait in line.
There was reconstruction going on when I visited. There always seems to be reconstruction at museums around the world. Some of the paintings were moved, and I walked out before realizing I had missed several I wanted to see. The rooms aren’t full of paintings, which allowed for a good flow of people. I visited the two Botticellis early with limited crowds. I returned two hours later, and it was packed. Get there early.
Conclusion
The Uffizi Art Museum ranks among the best art museums in the world. It has the best collection of Italian Renaissance art in the world. Everyone has heard of da Vinci, Michealangolo, and probably sees the “Birth of Venus” by Botocelli. Skipping the Uffizi should be considered a crime against humanity. Do a little reading about the art included in the museum. You don’t need to become an art historian. I think you will enjoy the Uffizi much more if you do.
