Palazzo Pitti

Palazzo Pitti began in 1458 as the ambitious residence of banker Luca Pitti, a rival of the Medici family. Ironically, the Medici purchased the palazzo in 1549, and it became the chief residence of Tuscany's ruling dynasty for nearly three centuries. Cosimo I's wife Eleonora di Toledo acquired the palace and commissioned the famous Boboli Gardens behind it. Vasari added the corridor connecting Pitti to the Uffizi across the Arno. The palace grew as generations of Medici, Lorraine, and Savoy rulers filled it with art, furniture, and precious objects.

The Palatine Gallery displays over 500 Renaissance and Baroque paintings in the style of a princely collection, hung densely on silk-covered walls rather than in chronological order. Titian's The Concert and works by Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto hang alongside Raphael and Rubens. Artemisia Gentileschi's powerful Judith and Her Maidservant commands attention. Pietro da Cortona's lavish ceiling frescoes transform five rooms into Baroque spectacles. The palace opened to the public in 1833 and became state property in 1919.