Medici TreasuryThe Museum is located in the Summer Apartments on the ground floor and on the mezzanine floor of the Pitti Palace.
The Granduke Ferdinando I made these rooms decorated in 1635, on the occasion of his wedding with Vittoria della Rovere. The Museum houses the important Medici’s Treasure: the semi precious stone vases of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the cameos of Cosimo I, the rock crystal objects of Francesco I, the ambers of Maria Maddalena d’Austria, the wonderful ivory vases of Mattia de Medici and the famous jewels collection belonged to Anna Maria Luisa, the last member of the Medici Family. The Museum is named after the silvers of the Salzburg Treasure, belonged to the Bishops of Salzburg and brought to Florence by Ferdinand III of Lorena in 1815. The Museum also houses an important collection of jewels made between the 17th and the 20th century by the most important Italian and European workshops. An important new section devoted to the Contemporary Jewellery has recently been opened to testify the vitality of this historical Museum. A new setting houses the Japanese and Chinese Medici’s porcelain collection, started from the Medici Family in the 15th century: in the same room is now showed another important collection, given to the Museum by the Scalabrino Family, including Japanese and Chinese porcelains and some European maiolicas. On the mezzanine floor of the museum it is possible to visit an extraordinary collection of miniature portraits, executed between the mid-sixteenth and the twentieth century, illustrating the principal schools of production: French, English, Italian, German, Austrian and American. |
The Porcelein MuseumThe Porcelain Museum houses the most beautiful porcelain of Europe, bought by Pietro Leopoldo and Ferdinand III: this collection was enriched by the arrival of other porcelain from the historical palaces of Parma, Piacenza and Sala Baganza which, from 1860, had been “sacked” to furnish the Royal Apartments of the Savoia Family in the Pitti
Palace in Florence. The Museum is located in the 18th century building called the Palazzina del Cavaliere at the top of the Boboli Gardens. In this pavilion of delights, the Accademici del Cimento gathered and Gian Gastone de Medici took French lessons. |
The Boboli GardenRising behind the Pitti Palace are the beautiful Boboli Gardens. They were originally designed for the Medici and are one of the earliest examples of the Italian Garden which later inspired those of many European courts. The gardens
extend over a vast area forming an open-air museum with antique and Renaissance statues, grottoes and large fountains. Exploring its numerous and varied walks one is able to evoke the spirit of life at court and to enjoy the experience of a garden which continues to renew its natural cycle in keeping with the tradition of its past. |
The Pitti Palace, which was formerly the residence of the grand-dukes of Tuscany and later of the King of Italy, now houses several important collections of paintings and sculpture, works of art, porcelain and a costume gallery, besides providing a magnificently decorated historical setting which extends to the Boboli Gardens, one of the earliest Italian gardens famous also for its fountains and grottoes.
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The Palazzo Pitti (Italian pronunciation: [paˈlattso ˈpitti]), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker.
The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry and luxurious possessions. In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy. The palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, and its doors were opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries. Today, it houses several minor collections in addition to those of the Medici family, and is fully open to the public. |
The park is famous for the beauty of the flowers and for the very old sculptures.
It is divided into several main galleries or museums: the Palatine Gallery, the Royal Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Silver Museum, the Porcelain Museum, the Costume Gallery and the Carriages Museum. |
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, most of which had been collected by the Medici, were hung in the Gallery. 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. The paintings, which are sumptuously framed, cover the walls of the rooms in the style of traditional 17th-century picture galleries. The way they are hung and the rich plaster and fresco decoration of the suite of six rooms overlooking the piazza give the Gallery its particular fascination. From the Palatine Gallery the visit continues through the Royal Apartments. They consist of fourteen magnificent rooms which were the home of the Medici and Lorraine grand-ducal families and, from 1865, of the king of Italy. |
Gallery of Mordern art:The Gallery, which is situated on the second floor of the Pitti Palace, has a fine collection of paintings and sculpture, mostly Italian, dating from the late 18th century to World War I.
The elegant rooms, which were formerly inhabited by the Lorraine grand-dukes, are decorated with works of the neo-classical and romantic periods. There is also a splendid collection of works by artists of the Macchiaioli movement and of other Italian schools of the later 19th and early 20th centuries. |
One of the most famous paintings is Raphael's (Raffaello Sanzio) La Velata (the veiled woman).
It's a very beautiful place with art, sculpture and artifacts.
Most of the furniture and architecture are preserved too but it doesn't have a beautiful appearance like the Louvre or Versailles.
More coming soon.
It's a very beautiful place with art, sculpture and artifacts.
Most of the furniture and architecture are preserved too but it doesn't have a beautiful appearance like the Louvre or Versailles.
More coming soon.