| The
building of Palazzo Pitti was begun for Luca Pitti in 1458 on a design
by Brunelleschi and left unfinished. It was Eleonora di Toledo, wife of
Grand-duke Cosimo I, who commissioned Ammannati to make it the elected
residence of the Medici family. He enlarged the palace and built the grandiose
courtyard. The building was further enlarged in the 17th century by Giulio
and Alfonso Parigi with the present facade while the two lateral rondò
(wings) were added later in the 18th century.
After
Medici, the residence was inhabitated by Lorraine family and, throughout
the brief period during which Florence was capital of the Italian Kingdom
by the Savoy family. The Royal Apartments are open to
public after a restoration and occupy the right wing of the palace.
The fame of the palace is linked to the prestigious Galleria Palatina,
the picture gallery of the Medici and Lorraine families which was opened
to public in 1828 by Grand-duke Leopoldo II. The collection continued
to be enriched by the successive acquisitions of works of great value
of italian and european artists between the 15th and the 18th century
including masterpieces by Tiziano, Raffaello, Giorgione, Perugino, Rubens.
The grand-ducal summer apartments in the Pitti Palace are home to the
Museo degli Argenti (Silverware), one of the most precious
collection in the world including the Medici Treasure.
Palazzo Pitti hosts on the second floor the Gallery of Modern
Art, which houses works by artists between the late 18th and
early 20th centuries, including a rich collection by painters of the Macchiaioli
movement.
The Costume Gallery, created in the 1983 and housed in
the 18th century Palazzina della Meridiana, is an interesting museum of
fashion running also temporary exhibitions. It houses a collection of
costumes and accessories from the 16th to 20th centuries.
Besides, the palace hosts the Coach Museum which comprises
a collection of coaches belonging to the Lorena and Savoy courts.
While the Porcelain Museum is housed in the
Casino del Cavaliere a villa inside the Boboli Gardens.
Between Palazzo Pitti and Porta Romana are the spectacular Boboli
Gardens, which were created for the Medici
by Ammannati and Buontalenti in the second half of the 16th century, and
further enriched during the 17th-18th. The entire garden is an open-air
museum covering an area of 45000 sq.m. along the Boboli hills. In it are
the Grotta del Buontalenti, the splendid 17th century Amphitheatre by
Alfonso Parigi, the fontain of Carciofo by Taddei, and numerous works
of sculture of the renaissance period. |
