galleria degli uffizi

The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palazzo (palace) in Florence, Italy, housing one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. It is located at 43°46′7.1″N, 11°15′18.77″E.

The museum and its history

Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates — hence the name "uffizi" ("offices"). Construction ended in 1581. The cortile is so long and narrow, and open to the Arno at its far end through a Doric screen that articulates the space without blocking it, that architectural historians^[1] treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe. Vasari, a painter as well as architect, emphasized the perspective length by the matching facades' continuous roof cornices, and unbroken cornices between storeys and the three continuous steps on which the palace-fronts stand.

Over the years, parts of the palace evolved into a display place for many of the paintings and sculpture collected by the Medici family or commissioned by them. After the house of Medici was extinguished, the art treasures remained in Florence, forming one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public.

Because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence — for example, some famous statues, to the Bargello. A project is currently underway to expand the museum's exhibition space by 2006 from some 6,000 metres² (64,000 ft²) to almost 13,000 metres² (139,000 ft²), allowing public viewing of many artworks that have usually been in storage.

In 1993, a car bomb exploded in Via dei Georgofili and damaged parts of the palace, killing five people. The most severe damage was to the Niobe room, the classical sculptures and neoclassical interior of which have been restored, although its frescoes were beyond repair. The cause has never been cleared up, although some suspect the Mafia.

Today the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence. In high season (particularly in July), waiting times can be up to five hours. Visitors who reserve a ticket in advance have a substantially shorter wait.

In popular culture

The museum plays a significant role in the film Hannibal, being the place where Hannibal Lecter has stowed himself after escaping from prison (in The Silence of the Lambs), and where he murders two more of his victims. The Uffizi is also referenced in the chorus of the song "You Enjoy Myself" by Phish, although the band has famously neither confirmed or denied the exact lines of the songs chorus

The collections

Here is only a small selection from the world-class collection of paintings:

• Cimabue (Maestà)
• Duccio (Maestà)
• Giotto (The Ognissanti Madonna, Badia Polyptych)
• Simone Martini (The Annunciation)
• Paolo Uccello (The Battle of San Romano)
• Piero della Francesca (Diptych of Duke Federico da Montefeltro and Duchess Battista Sforza of Urbino)
• Fra Filippo Lippi (Madonna with Child and Two Angels)
• Andrea del Verrocchio (The Baptism of Christ)
• Hugo van der Goes (The Portinari Triptych)
• Sandro Botticelli (Primavera, The Birth of Venus, The Adoration of the Magi and others)
• Leonardo da Vinci (The Annunciation, The Adoration of the Magi)
• Piero di Cosimo (Perseus liberating Andromeda)
• Albrecht Dürer (The Adoration of the Magi)
• Michelangelo (The Doni Tondo)
• Raphael (Madonna of the Goldfinch, Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi)
• Titian (Flora, Venus of Urbino)
• Parmigianino (The Madonna of the Long Neck)
• Caravaggio (Bacchus, The Sacrifice of Isaac, Medusa)

See also Category:Collections of the Uffizi.

Notes