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The Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens
http://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/pitti-palace.htmlAbout
TicketFull euro 8,50Reduced euro 4,25Includes entrance to Gallery of Modern Art Opening hoursOpen from 8.15 a.m. to 6.50 p.m. Tuesday through SundayDays of closureClosed Mondays, January 1, May 1, and December 25 The Palatine Gallery occupies the whole left wing of the first floor of the Pitti Palace, which was the residence of the Medici Grand Dukes. In 1828, when Tuscany came under the rule of the Lorraine family, the most important paintings in the Palace were hung in the Gallery and opened it to the public. It is an impressive collection comprising works by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, Rubens, Pietro da Cortona and other Italian and European masters of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Its present layout preserves the character of a private picture gallery with a sumptuous combination of lavish interior decoration and the rich picture frames ordered by the Medici themselves. Unlike most of the museums arranged in recent times, the Palatine Gallery's layout follows nether chronological order nor schools of painting, revealing instead in its hanging and sheer numerical size the personal taste of the great collectors who lived in the palace. The rooms at present occupied by the gallery overlook the piazza and were frescoed by Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669) with an imposing decorative cycle which makes use of the classical myth to allude to life and education of the prince. The imposing ceilings with their frescoes and large stucco decorations are one of the most important examples of the Baroque style in Florence and provide a splendid framework for the 16th to 18th century paintings on show. From the Palatine Gallery, the visit continues through the Royal Apartments, fourteen magnificent rooms which were the home of the Medici and Lorraine families and, from 1865, of the king of Italy during the brief period that Florence was capital of Italy. Three historical moments and styles are seen side by side in these series of rooms, giving a sense of the growth of the palace over a long period of time.
