Second post dedicated to Palazzo Pitti Museum, about its long history on the way to become one of the most iconic Florentine museums.
Palazzo Pitti Museum: From the Medici to present day
In the previous related post, we left Palazzo Pitti in the Medici’s hands.
In 1550 the works for the Boboli Garden, the beautiful Palazzo Pitti park, started.
In 1616 the architect Giulio Parigi won the commission on the extension of the building’s façade.
Giulio (1571–1635) started the works in 1618 on the north side.
In 1631 Giulio’s son, Alfonso (1606–1656) started the works on the south side.
Palazzo Pitti Timetable
- From Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays and on January 1st, May 1st, December 25th).
- 08:15 / 18:50. Ticket office closes at 18:05.
- Call us to book a very special experience of Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden.
- Palazzo Pitti: the Medici’s building which hosted emperors and kings – I
- (this post) Palazzo Pitti Museum: host of emperors and kings – II
- Palazzo Pitti “museum of museums”: the Galleria Palatina collection
- Palazzo Pitti IV – Galleria Palatina Masterpieces, Palazzo Pitti
The further extensions of the façade by the architect Giuseppe Ruggeri gave Palazzo Pitti the definitive, current layout, creating one of the first “Cour d’honneur”, a three-sided ceremonial courtyard: actually, the same that salutes the visitors nowadays.
In 1737 Gian Gastone de’ Medici, the last male Medici heir, died. Francis I of Lorraine (1708-1765), Holy Roman Emperor, became the new Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Tuscany became part of the French Empire for a while – and Palazzo Strozzi had Napoleon as a guest – then back to Lorraine.
After two emperors, Palazzo Strozzi became a royal seat too, when Florence became the “temporary” capital of Italy.
King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy stayed in Palazzo Strozzi between 1864 and 1871.
In 1919 Victor Emmanuel III presented Palazzo Pitti to the Italian people. Palazzo Pitti, and all its treasures…
Palazzo Pitti Museum: the royal perks of the Palatine Gallery
Palazzo Pitti was a great gift indeed, as its Palatine Gallery, a painting collection started by the Medicis, gathers over 500 paintings from the late Renaissance, by artists such as Raphael, Titian, Rubens and Caravaggio.
In a forthcoming post, we will dig into the Palatine Gallery masterpieces and its peculiarity as a museum in which the walls are artworks as well…
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