Uffizi: Encyclopedia - Uffizi

Uffizi

The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palace or palazzo in Florence, holding one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world.

Uffizi - The museum and its history

Building of the palace was commenced in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates - hence the name uffizi, meaning offices. Construction work ended in 1581. Over the years, parts of the palace evolved into a storage place of many works of art collected by the Medici family. After the decline of the Medici, the art treasures remained in Florence, forming one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors on request since the 16th century and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public.

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

In 1993, a car bomb exploded 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) the waiting times can be up to five hours. Visitors who reserved a ticket in advance have a significantly shorter waiting time.

Uffizi - 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)
• Sandro Botticelli (Primavera, The Birth of Venus, The Adoration of the Magi and others)
• Hugo van der Goes (The Portinari Triptych)
• Leonardo da Vinci (Baptism of Christ, 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)

Uffizi - Self-portraits in the Vasari Corridor

Diego Velázquez, 1643

Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1790

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Uffizi", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki