Florence Palazzo Pitti

Palazzo Pitti is sited South of the River Arno, at the foot of the hill on which the Boboli Gardens are to be found. The Palazzo is today houses of various museums. Palazzo Pitti is historically linked to the Uffizi, both buildings having been owned, centuries ago, by the most powerful Florentine family, the Medici.

Built in 1457, Palazzo Pitti was commissioned by Luca Pitti, one of the richest Florentine merchants, though it has yet to be established whether the design project was that of Filippo Brunelleschi or Leon Battista Alberti. Today, Palazzo Pitti houses an art collection with works from the 16th to 18th century; in particular there is the Palatina Gallery with over 500 paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Botticelli, Titian, and Tintoretto; the Gallery of Modern Art, which houses works by predominantly Tuscan artists from the 18th to 20th century; the Silver Museum, property of the Medici family; the Costume Museum; then there are the Ducal apartments with their fabulous interior decoration which function as a museum in their own right