The second half of the 16th century is considered to be the time when the museum was founded. The area of the Gallery is about eight thousand square meters, on which you can see a variety of collections since the founding of the museum.
This landmark of Florence is also known as the first museum that was open to the public. The Uffizi Gallery has 45 rooms in which works are exhibited in chronological order and, passing from room to room, you can see the development of painting from the Byzantine and Medieval period to the present day.

History of the Uffizi Gallery and the Medici Collection
The most important part of this museum is considered to be the collection assembled by the Medici family, who ruled the Duchy for many years. The palace that now houses the Gallery was originally built to house the administrative offices of the government (hence the name of the gallery, Uffizi). Started the construction of the palace by Giorgio Vasari in 1560, after his death it was continued by Bernardo Buontalenti. After Cosimo I Medici’s heir came to power, the new palace officially became a museum. In 1581 the second floor housed classical sculptures, medals, jewelry, weapons, paintings and scientific instruments.

Renaissance collection
The most famous collection in the gallery is the collection of Renaissance paintings. Among the works collected in the main exhibition are works by such great masters as:

Giotto
Michelangelo
Raphaello
Leonardo da Vinci
Botticelli
Titian

This most famous site in Italy houses a work depicting the Holy Family, Michelangelo’s only major pictorial work outside the Sistine Chapel.

A collection of self-portraits
The process of collecting self-portraits began with Leopoldo de’ Medici in the 17th century. Since then, the collection has been constantly enriched with works by new authors. The first to be acquired were some works by the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. The collection of self-portraits was also enlarged thanks to the artists themselves, who sent their works to the Gallery. Representatives of the museum themselves sometimes commissioned self-portraits from famous and not so famous artists. During the existence of the Gallery the list of artists has grown to several pages. The list also includes the names of Russian artists such as Aivazovsky, Kiprensky and Kustodiev.

Don’t forget to visit the unique Renaissance garden ensemble of Florence – Boboli Gardens. The gardens are named after the hill on whose slopes they are located.

he entrance to the museum halls is through three vestibules. In one of them are busts carved in marble and porphyry. Another is decorated by the Italian artist Giovanni Manozzi (Giovanni da San Giovanni). The third vestibule contains sarcophagi and statues from the ancient Roman period.

The third floor of the building is devoted to the picture gallery. In addition to this, the palace contains rare documents on the history of Florence and you can also see the Cabinet of drawings and engravings. Its unique collection began in the 17th century, thanks to Cardinal Leopold Medici.

The Uffizi Gallery has world-famous paintings by Sandro Botticelli: Birth of Venus, Spring, Madonna and Child with Angel, and Libel. Halls 10-14 are devoted to the works of the Italian painter and friend of the Medici family.

Two pictures by Leonardo da Vinci, “Annunciation” and “Adoration of the Magi” are exhibited in hall № 15. In other rooms, Titian’s “Venus of Urbino” and Verrocchio’s “Baptism of Christ” are on display.

Room 25 of the Uffizi Gallery presents visitors with the young Michelangelo Buonarroti’s masterpiece, The Holy Family. It is a circular painting made in the popular at the time technique of cangiante, when the forms of human bodies were conveyed with sculptural expressiveness. Part of the gallery space is devoted to the works of foreign masters of painting. In these halls one can see paintings by Dürer, Goya, El Greco, Velázquez, Rubens, Rembrandt and Van Dyck.

Vasari’s famous air corridor contains about 1,500 paintings. These are self-portraits by Raphael, Rubens, Diego Velasquez, Giorgio Vasari and other artists. Among Russian painters, self-portraits by Boris Kustodiev, Ivan Aivazovsky, Orest Kiprensky and Viktor Ivanov are exhibited here. The collection of self-portraits is constantly replenished by purchases and donations. The opportunity to exhibit their self-portrait in the Uffizi Gallery is considered a great honor by all artists.

Of the sculptures in the museum, the statue of Venus de’ Medici deserves special attention. It was created in the I century AD by an unknown artist. Recently, scientists made a research of the sculpture and found out that it was painted before. The woman’s lips were covered with scarlet paint and her hair was covered with gold. The sculpture, which is on display in Florence, is a copy of the famous statue of the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles, which he created in the IV century BC. It depicted Aphrodite of Cnid, whose beauty was posed by the famous Athenian hetaera Frina. Pliny called this work of the famous sculptor the most beautiful statue on earth.