History and collection of Palazzo Pitti. Museum pride of Italy: Palazzo Pitti

, Tuscany

building type banker's residence Architectural style Renaissance architecture Founder Luca Pitti Foundation date Construction - years State art Gallery Website palazzopitti.it

History and current purpose of the building

Early history

The construction of this austere and inhospitable building was begun in 1458 by the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, Cosimo de' Medici's chief supporter and close friend. Early history The palace is a mixture of fact and fiction. To outdo his patron, Pitti is said to have ordered his workers to make the windows of his palace even larger than the entrance to the Medici palace. Pitti's contemporary Niccolò Machiavelli reports that all those expelled from Florence, besides the criminals to be persecuted, took refuge in the palace if they could be useful for the construction. Construction work was halted when, with the death of Cosimo de' Medici in 1464, Pitti began to experience financial difficulties. The owner of the palace died in 1472, without having completed his enterprise.

Land on Boboli Hill was purchased to create a park and gardens on it, now known as the Boboli Gardens. Their device was taken up by the gardener-decorator Niccolo Tribolo, who was at the Medici court, who died the following year; he was replaced almost immediately by the architect Bartolomeo Ammanati. The original plan for the gardens was centered around an amphitheatre. The first performance took place there in 1476; was shown there Girl from Andros Island» Publius Terence Afra . It was followed by many plays by Florentine writers such as Giovan Battista Cini. Performed for the entertainment of the Medici cultural court, they used the complex imagery of a court set designer. Baldassare Lanci.

Houses of Lorraine and Savoy

The palace remained the main residence of the Medici until 1737, when the last representative of the Medici family in the direct male line, Gian Gastone Medici, died. It was then briefly in the hands of his sister Anna Maria; with her death, the direct line of the Medici family died out and the palace passed to the new Grand Dukes of Tuscany - the House of Lorraine from Austria represented by the emperor of the Holy German Empire Franz I Stephen. The Austrian lease was briefly interrupted by Napoleon, who used the palace during his period of control over Italy. In 1860, Tuscany passed from the hands of the House of Lorraine to the representatives of the Savoy dynasty; the same thing happened to the Palazzo Pitti.

Nationalization and our time

architectural features

Gallery of contemporary art

The Gallery of Modern Art mainly presents works by Italian painters of the 19th century. A Florentine group of artists called Macchiaioli (Italian macchia - spot) had a great influence on all Italian painting at the end of that century. She received such a name for the free manner of writing with bright color spots.

Silver Museum

Gallery

Palace facade

Patio

Clothing in the Costume Gallery

View of the palace from the southeast

Porcelain Museum in the Boboli Gardens

Notes

Links

• Official website (Italian)

Accademia del Cimento

Accademia del Cimento or Academy of Experience (experiment; experiments) (lat. Accademia del Cimento; Italian Accademia dell "esperimento) - in Florence a learned society (in Italian "academy"), established in 1657 at the expense of Leopold de Medici and using , for the first time in Europe, Galileo's experimental methods in natural science.

Initially, the academy was located in the Florentine Palazzo Pitti, next to the Grand Duke Ferdinand II, who participated in the creation of some instruments, then moved to the Castellani Palace, now the Florentine Museum of the History of Science or the Galileo Museum (Italian: Museo Galileo).

Ammannati, Bartolomeo

Bartolomeo Ammannati (June 18, 1511 - April 13, 1592) was one of the most prolific Florentine sculptors and architects of the Mannerist era. Husband of the poetess Laura Battiferri.

He studied with Baccio Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino (whom he assisted in the construction of the library of San Marco). How the sculptor imitated Michelangelo. His statues give the impression not so much grandeur as massiveness. On the Florentine Piazza della Signoria rises the most famous of them - the fountain of Neptune. He worked on it for ten years with his students, among whom was Giambologna.

Ammannati remained in history primarily as an architect. In Florence, he built the Santa Trinita bridge over the Arno and completed the largest building project of the Cinquecento - the Pitti Palace. It was he who had the opportunity to realize Michelangelo's proposed staircase project in Laurenziana. Ammannati's fame reached Pope Julius III, who invited him to build his Roman villa with Giorgio Vasari and Giacomo da Vignola.

In the years 1528-1534, by order of the cardinals Lorenzo and Roberto Pucci, he built the Palazzo Pucci on the street of the same name. In the years 1577-1590, by order of Francesco Pucci, he rebuilt the facade of the Florentine church of San Michele.

IN recent decades During his life, Ammannati, having become religious, branded the reproduction of naked bodies in stone as a crime against morality. As a result, his productivity declined. He died in Florence and bequeathed his fortune to the Jesuits. He was buried with his wife in the church of San Giovanini degli Scolopi in Florence.

Brunelleschi, Filippo

Filippo Brunelleschi (Italian: Filippo Brunelleschi (Brunellesco)); 1377-1446) - Italian architect, sculptor of the Renaissance.

Gabbiani, Anton Domenico

Anton (Antonio) Domenico Gabbiani (Italian: Anton Domenico Gabbiani; February 13, 1652, Florence - November 22, 1726, ibid) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period.

Dolci, Carlo

Carlo Dolci (Italian: Carlo Dolci; May 25, 1616, Florence - January 17, 1686, ibid.) was an Italian painter of the Florentine Baroque school.

Donna Velata

"Donna Velata" (Italian: Ritratto di donna or La Velata - "a woman under a veil") is one of the most famous portraits of the Italian Renaissance artist Rafael Santi.

It is believed that Raphael's beloved, depicted on the Fornarin canvas, served as the model for this work. Individuality emerges in the chamber atmosphere of both paintings.

It is believed that Raphael met Fornarina in 1514 while working in Rome for the banker Agostino Chigi on the design of the main gallery of his Villa Farnesina. Raphael painted the Three Graces and Galatea frescoes for Chigi.

For the fresco "Cupid and Psyche", Rafael began to look for a model and finally saw the 17-year-old daughter of the baker Margarita Luti on the banks of the Tiber. Raphael nicknamed her Fornarina (from Italian fornaro - baker).

The artist offered the girl to work as a model and invited her to his studio. Thus began their romance, it lasted six years, until the death of the master. As they say, Raphael bought his daughter from his father for 3 thousand gold pieces and rented a villa for her. After the untimely death of the great artist, Fornarina, as the documents say, went to the monastery in 1520.

Initially, the painting was in the collection of a Florentine merchant from Cremona, Matteo Bottego, and in 1615 became the property of Cosimo II. For a long time, the authorship of the painting was not established, and only in 1839 it turned out that it belongs to the brush of Raphael. The painting is currently exhibited in the Palatine Gallery of Palazzo Pitti in Florence.

Vasari Corridor

The Vasari Corridor (Italian: Corridoio Vasariano) in Florence is a covered gallery connecting the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. Part of the corridor is open for inspection, but only as part of a group and accompanied by a guide.

The Vasari Corridor was built within five months in 1565 by order of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I. The reason for the construction was the marriage of the son of the Grand Duke, Francesco I de' Medici, with Joanna of Austria. The building was designed by Giorgio Vasari.

A section of the Vasari Corridor above the Ponte Vecchio is equipped with a number of large panoramic windows. They offer a magnificent view of the Arno River to the Ponte Santa Trinita. The size of the windows was increased in 1939 by order of Benito Mussolini.

The Vasari Corridor stores about 700 paintings of the 16th-17th centuries by Roman and Neapolitan masters, as well as a unique collection of self-portraits of famous and great artists of Italy and the world until the beginning of the 20th century.

The collection contains about 1400 paintings, including self-portraits of Raphael, Giorgio Vasari, Rubens, Diego Velasquez, Kustodiev, Kiprensky. The level of the collection is evidenced by the fact that only author's originals are presented there, with rare exceptions (a medieval copy of Dürer's self-portrait).

At the very beginning of the exposition, unrestored paintings are exhibited, which were damaged by an explosion near the Uffizi Gallery on May 27, 1993, filled with explosives. Some of the paintings were cut into shreds by broken glass. The surviving pieces were collected and pasted on a black background without any additional drawings.

Cour d'honneur

Cour d'honneur (French cour d "honneur" court of honor) - a front yard in front of the building limited by the main building and side wings. It is usually separated from the outer space by a through fence with gates along the red line. Cour d'honneurs are widespread in European palace architecture XVII - 1st half of XIX centuries (in Russia since the beginning of the XVIII century). As a technique for a formal spatial composition, the court-doner is sometimes used in modern architecture.

Madonna Granduka

Madonna Granduca (Madonna del Granduca, which translates as "Madonna of the Great Duke") is a painting by Raphael depicting Mary holding the baby Christ in her arms and, as it were, presenting him to the viewer. It is exhibited in the Palatine Gallery of Palazzo Pitti (Florence). The board on which the painting is painted is 84 cm high and 56 cm wide.

It is assumed that the painting was painted by Raphael shortly after moving from Perugia to Florence (1504) under the influence of acquaintance with the works of Leonardo da Vinci. The influence of Leonardo is indicated by the use of the sfumato technique and the composition with a window to the garden, later painted over in black. Whether the black background belongs to the brush of Raphael himself is not known for certain.

Mary is depicted standing with a thoughtful expression in a traditional red dress (the color of the blood shed on the cross) and a blue cape (blue symbolizes purity). Her figure is slightly turned to the right, but the movement is balanced by the movement of the baby in the opposite direction.

The painting received its current name in honor of the Grand Duke Ferdinand III, who acquired it from the heirs of the artist Carlo Dolci and brought it to Vienna to boast of the acquisition to relatives from the Habsburg family. Since the first mention of the painting in 1799, it has been kept in the Pitti Palace in Florence.

Madonna in the chair

"Madonna in the Chair" is a painting by Raphael painted around 1513-1514, during the artist's Roman period. It is currently kept in the Palatine Gallery of Palazzo Pitti (Florence).

The painting depicts the Virgin Mary embracing the baby Christ, and young John the Baptist looking at them with reverence. Strict geometric shape And linear perspective, characteristic of the early Madonnas of Raphael of the Florentine period, "Madonna in the Chair" does not have. The use of warmer colors suggests the influence of Titian and Raphael's rival Sebastiano del Piombo on the work.

The “Madonna in the Chair” was highly appreciated by Ingres, who placed it on several of his paintings - “Henry IV receives the Spanish ambassador”, “Raphael and Fornarina”, “Portrait of Monsieur Riviera” and “Portrait of Napoleon on the imperial throne” (in carpet embroidery at the feet of the emperor ). Johann Zoffany also depicted the Madonna in the Chair, among other paintings, on the Uffizi Tribune, painted in the 70s of the 18th century.

Raphael Madonnas

Following his teacher Perugino, the artist Raphael Santi (1483-1520) created a detailed gallery of images of Mary with a baby, which are very diverse compositional techniques and psychological interpretations.

Raphael's early Madonnas follow the well-known examples of Quattrocento Umbrian painting. Idyllic images are not devoid of stiffness, dryness, hieraticity. The interaction of the figures on the Madonnas of the Florentine period is more direct. They are characterized by complex landscape backgrounds. The universal experiences of motherhood come to the fore - a sense of anxiety and at the same time pride of Mary for the fate of her son. This charm of motherhood is the main emotional accent in the Madonnas, made after the artist moved to Rome. The Sistine Madonna (1514) is considered to be the absolute peak, where triumphant delight with notes of awakening anxiety are harmoniously woven together.

For the first time, references to the Bobole Gardens can be found in archival chronicles dating back to the end of the 16th century. It was then that Duke Cosimo I Medici acquired new real estate in the form of the Pitti Palace. When inspecting the acquisition, it was discovered that a large hill with undeveloped territory begins behind the palace. And from the top of the hill there was a great panoramic view. Then the wife of the Duke, Eleanor of Toledo, came up with the idea to create a majestic park on the hill, which would emphasize the influence and wealth of the Medici family.

At the very entrance to the Boboli Gardens there is a sculpture of Morgant, the court dwarf of the ruler Cosimo I de' Medici, riding a turtle. Sculptor: Valerio Cioli, 1560

Boboli Gardens (Italian: Giardino di Boboli). This is a unique park located just behind the Pitti Palace, which served as the residence of the Medici family. There you can enjoy a great view of Florence, admire sculptural compositions, freshen up by the luxurious fountains, relax in the shade of centuries-old trees. After all, today, as before, the park is a great place to relax, regardless of the time of year.

The entrance to the Boboli Gardens is through the adjoining Pitti Palace. The Pitti Palace embodies the vision of a Renaissance architect. It is a cube, equal in height and depth, and on the outside covered with a rough rusticated stone. The building has three floors. On the first one there are three large entrance doors, and on the second and third there are seven windows. The facade windows are connected by a long balcony, and a loggia has been built under the roof. Palazzo Pitti is not only one of the largest Florentine palaces, but also the most impressive of them. The use of coarse finishing materials in the cladding of a residential building, rather than a public building, which was first used by the architect Michelozzo in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, was erected here in the highest degree. Each of the three floors is over 10 meters high. This elevates the building to an unprecedented height for those times, increased by a natural elevation. Large, rough, golden stones used in cladding and windows that looked more like rounded doorways completed the original appearance structures.

The history of the construction of Palazzo Pitti is very interesting, and in this story there are more fictions and rumors than facts and documentary evidence. When Duke Cosimo Medici, nicknamed the Old, came to power, he received instructions from his father not to flaunt his greatness and wealth before the people, so as not to irritate the masses.

That is why the Medici abandoned the luxurious project of Filippo Brunelleschi in favor of the more modest project of the architect Michelozzo - inside his palace was decorated with all conceivable luxury and wealth, but outwardly all decorum was respected. But the Brunelleschi project was not in vain - the richest banker Luca Pitti drew attention to it. View from the windows of the palace - see below.

At present, Palazzo Pitti is not only an outstanding landmark of Florence, but also the largest museum and historical and architectural complex, which has valuable collections of works. Italian art. The museum complex unites large galleries and thematic halls.

Silver Museum. Here is a collection of silverware - jewelry, household items (cutlery, accessories). In addition to silver jewelry, the museum exhibits collections of items made of gold, ivory, precious and semi-precious stones, as well as a collection of vases, the beginning of which was laid by Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent). Here you can also see vases from the ancient Roman era, vases from Byzantium and Venice (14th century). The highlight of the collection of this museum is a miniature copy of Piazza Senoria, trimmed with gold and silver.

Palatine Gallery. In luxurious baroque interiors there are halls dedicated to the heroes of Roman mythology. Lush interiors create a magnificent backdrop for the ancient statues of the gods - Mars, Apollo, Venus, which were painted by master Pietro da Corton. The Palatine Gallery houses unique works Raphael and Titian (the gallery contains 11 works by Raphael - more than in any museum in the world), Caravaggio and Rubens, as well as paintings by famous representatives Venetian school Tintoretto and Giorgione. It is noteworthy that some of the works are located in the places where they were identified by the first owners - members of the Medici family.

Costume Museum. Luxurious outfits and exquisite ladies' toilets of the 15th-18th centuries are presented in this gallery (there are about 6,000 costumes and wardrobe items in total). In addition, a number of expositions are devoted to accessories and interior items. The expositions in the museum change only twice a year.

Porcelain Museum. Famous porcelain tableware belonging to the Medici dynasty (Sevres porcelain, Meissen porcelain, antique ceramic collections), as well as porcelain figurines. Gallery of contemporary art. This gallery contains works by representatives of modern Italian schools of painting.

The affairs of the banker Luca Pitti were going well, he was well received in many famous and rich houses of Florence. And then one day the idea came to him to build a palace that would exceed the size and splendor of the palazzo of the Duke of Tuscany himself - Cosimo de Medici (Old). The author of the project of the Palazzo Pitti was supposedly the architect Filippo Brunelleschi, and his assistant was Luca Francelli, who at that time was Brunelleschi's student.

But architectural historians in last years they agree that Luca Francelli, who used the achievements and technologies of his teacher, Filippo Brunelleschi, became the author of the project. This version is confirmed by the fact that Brunelleschi was no longer alive by the time construction began on the Pitti Palace.

Construction began in 1457-1458. Luca Pitti's plans for the construction were very grandiose: he wished that the windows were higher than the windows of the Medici Palace, and the garden was much larger than the entire territory of the Medici-Ricardi Palace. But the construction did not go as fast as the owner wanted. Despite the fact that even convicts and fugitive criminals were not shy to involve in the construction (in order for the palace to be built as soon as possible), financial difficulties became a significant obstacle to the triumph of the banker Pitti. The paradox is that Palazzo Pitti still ended up in the ownership of the Medici family. This happened after the death of Luca Pitti himself (1472), who did not live to see the completion of the construction of his palace (1487). The new owner, or rather, the owner, was the wife of Cosimo Medici, Eleanor of Toledo, who in 1549 acquired the palazzo from the bankrupt descendant of the banker Pitti, Bonacossro Pitti.

Before moving with the entire large family to a new palazzo, the Duke of Tuscany ordered to expand the boundaries of the palace through extensions, adding two side wings of the building, due to which the building area almost doubled. The redevelopment of the palazzo was undertaken by the architect Amannati, as well as the master Giorgio Vasari, who, in addition to the project, built the Vasari Corridor - a covered passage from the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) to the Pitti Palace. At first, the house served to accommodate foreign ambassadors and eminent guests of the city, and already during the reign of Ferdinand I, the Medici family finally moved to former home banker Pitty.

Behind Pitti Square and the palace, the land on Boboli Hill was bought out - there, under the guidance of the garden decorator Niccolo Tribolo, a grandiose work was launched to create a park complex - the Boboli Gardens. In 1737, the Medici family was interrupted, and power passed to representatives of another family - the Dukes of Lorraine. After them, Palazzo Pitti became a haven for both the Bourbons and the Habsburg dynasty. During the period of the Italian national liberation movement (Risorgimento), Florence became the capital of the state for some time, and King Victor Emmanuel III chose the Pitti Palace as the royal residence. In 1919, the Italian authorities declared the palace a municipal property.

Houses opposite the palace - see below. Pitti Palace is located on Pitti Square near the Vecchio Palace. Address: Piazza dei Pitti Firenze, Italia. You can get there using buses No. 11,36 (San Felice stop).

Immediately behind the rear facade of the Pitti Palace with the Artichoke Fountain and a small geometric garden, there is a wonderful view of the large amphitheater by Giulio Parigi. It was he who transformed the former regular amphitheater garden into an open area for theatrical performances. The amphitheater, which looks like half of a Roman hippodrome, is framed by stonework in the form of a staircase with six rows of seats and a balustrade with two dozen niches. Initially, the niches were filled with antique statues with figures of dogs and other animals on the sides, later the figures of animals were replaced with terracotta urns imitating marble. It is known that the very first opera performances in the world took place in this amphitheater. In the 19th century, the amphitheater lost its theatrical function and a granite fountain and an Egyptian obelisk were installed in its center.

Later, the amphitheater ceased to function as a place for performances; a granite fountain and an Egyptian obelisk were installed in its center.

Up from the amphitheater there is an ascent, at the beginning of which there is a statue of Ceres, the goddess of fertility. Further up the stairs are statues of famous Romans and the emperor.

To create a masterpiece landscape gardening art was invited by Niccolo Tribolo, but, unfortunately, the master was released only one year and after his death the work was continued by Bartolomeo Ammanati.

If you climb up the hill to the very high point, you will have a stunning view of the garden, the Pitti Palace and Florence in general.

At the top of the Boboli Gardens is the second amphitheater, which houses one of the most beautiful fountains in the garden - the Fountain of Neptune. This is a pond irregular shape With bronze statue Neptune in the center. It is surrounded by naiads and newts. Among the people of the Florentines, this fountain is called the "fountain with a fork."

The main axial path, leading between cypresses and holm oaks to the rear facade of the Palazzo Pitti, starts at the bottom at the amphitheater, resembling half of the classical hippodrome in its shape, and goes up to Boboli Hill. In the center of the amphitheater is an ancient Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, brought here from the Medici Roman villa. This main path is crowned by the fountain of Neptune, which the Florentines jokingly call the fountain with a fork. The sculpture was created by Stoldo Lorenzi in 1571, and the fountain itself was made only in 1777-78. Another axial path in the right corner from the main path leads through a series of terraces and fountains.

Following the path from the coffee house, you will come to the "agricultural zone" of the Boboli Gardens with gravel droshky, low clipped hedges and young plantings of vines.

At the bottom of this zone is the round fountain of Ganymede. It is a bowl, in the center of which there are sculptures of a young man and an eagle. The composition is dedicated to the story of the abduction of Ganymede, who was carried by the eagle of Zeus to Olympus because of his eternal youth and beauty.

After visiting the gardens and the Medici villa, we were taken to Piazzale Michelangelo. It is located on a hilly area, surrounded on the sides by the gardens of Bardini and Boboli. From the square you can see the entire historical center of Florence, see the Arno river spreading its waters, as well as the dome of the main cathedral cities.

The square dates back to the end of the 19th century. It was built by the Italian architect Poggi and was his final work on the arrangement of the left bank of the Arno. According to the author's idea, there should have been works by the great Italian Michelangelo, which would have praised his achievements over the centuries. The architect conceived the neoclassical Loggia, where Buonarotti's creations were to be kept. However, the ideas were not destined to come true. Now, instead of a museum, there is a restaurant with a beautiful view of the city. At the end of the 19th century, a tram route passed through the square. In the center of Piazzale Michelangelo, in 1873, a copy of the most outstanding creation of sculpture, the magnificent statue of David, was installed. At the foot of a high white marble pedestal, there are four more copies of the best sculptures famous artist- allegories from the Medici Memorial Chapel in the Florentine Basilica of San Lorenzo. It is worth noting that, unlike the originals, all the twins installed on the square are completely made of bronze.

Upon completion of the square itself, Giuseppe Poggi also managed to build a loggia, where he planned to arrange a museum dedicated to the works famous master However, this project of the architect remained unfinished. Today, this building houses a fairly popular restaurant called La Loggia.

The square can be reached by using buses number 12 and 13, which travel from the city center. There are also many sightseeing buses around Florence. You can also take a walk along the stairs leading from another square - Poggi. The walk will take no more than 10 minutes at a calm pace along the ancient city wall.

Address: Italy, Florence
Start of construction: 1458
Completion of construction: 1464
Architect: Filippo Brunelleschi, Luca Francelli
Coordinates: 43°45"54.4"N 11°15"00.7"E

Content:

Short description

The history of this majestic and monumental Florentine palace, whose construction began in the 1400s, will be of interest to absolutely everyone: both ordinary travelers and people who have devoted their lives to studying the history of this magnificent flourishing city.

Palazzo Pitti from a bird's eye view

The mere fact that the Palazzo Pitti in different time belonged to the great Medici dynasty, the Dukes of Lorraine and the Italian royal family, suggests that many tourists call this architectural structure the “Great Royal Palace” for a reason. Below in the material, the word "palazzo" will be mentioned quite often, which means a magnificent house-palace. Today Pitti is one of the largest and most interesting museums in Florence.. Within its walls are the Silver Museum and the Carriage Museum, the Palatine Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art.

Palazzo Pitti building history

Palazzo Pitti stands proudly on the slope of the Boboli hill, on the south bank of the Arno river in Florence. According to historical documents, the building was originally built by Luca Pitti, who, immediately after being knighted for services to the republic, began the construction of a luxurious and majestic building. However, who was the first architect who managed to create such splendor is not known for certain. Many experts believe that Pitti ordered to develop a plan and make drawings of the palace to the most famous and famous architect Filippo Brunellesco. Luca Pitti wanted to surpass the Medici in everything, including the size of the building and its luxury. He orders the architect a palazzo project, in which huge windows "as large as the doors of the Medici residence" would be required, the courtyard "such that the entire Medici palace on Via Larga could fit in it."

View of the Palazzo Pitti from the Arnolfo Tower

The specialist, after listening to Pitti, really developed a project for a truly huge palace: the building has a length of 201 meters (!), And its height is slightly more than 37 meters. Moreover, everything had to be grandiose in his understanding: the same high floors, the same spans of portals and windows, the same cornices and balconies, the most powerful arches. The three-storey palace, built from the "debris" of the mountain (roughly hewn stones of a golden hue), is practically devoid of facade decorations. Perhaps the only exceptions are the balustrade, which seems to “flow” along the very top of the huge structure, and the windows protruding forward and supported by arches.

As soon as the construction of the palazzo was nearing completion, the Pitti family moved into the palace. However, they did not have long to enjoy the created luxury and splendor. In 1472, Luca Pitti died suddenly, the family suffered losses, as a result of which the palace was abandoned and neglected. A century later, the palace passes into the possession of Duke Cosimo I of Medici (later the first Grand Duke of Tuscany), and to be more precise, his wife Eleanor of Toledo. This is the period of the new heyday of the Palazzo Pitti. In those days, the architect Bartolomeo Ammannati undertook its restoration, making significant changes to the original design of Brunellesco (?).

Facade view of Palazzo Pitti

According to his idea, a large wide staircase leading to the second floor was built, two side doors were replaced with floor windows, the length of the facade was increased due to the construction of side outbuildings. However, the main transformation that appeared in those days and deserves special attention is the appearance of a magnificent courtyard, which is rightfully considered a classic of the Renaissance. Also connoisseurs architectural styles can also notice the "presence" of the Mannerist style, which is displayed in the Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns.

The courtyard leading travelers to the park ends with a small fountain, a terrace and an amphitheater, shaped like a horseshoe. Today one can only imagine what magnificent celebrations took place in the courtyard of the Palazzo Pitti, what complex performances the artists showed in front of their audience. In some sources, you can read information that for one performance the entire area of ​​​​the courtyard was even specially flooded: the artists in those days needed to play out a sea battle. A unique semi-circular fresco has survived to this day, which depicts the Pitti Palace from the late 1500s.

A new transformation of the palace falls on the 17th century, when Cosimo II, and later Ferdinand II, was in power. Palazzo Pitti has been further enlarged, and the collection of paintings has been supplemented by works famous artists Europe. In addition, a collection of monumental altars by Andrea del Sarto was collected in the palazzo, unique canvases Van Dyck and Rubens, the unforgettable landscapes of Salvator Rosa.

View of the inner courtyard of Palazzo Pitti

The last most important changes in the architecture of the palace took place during the reign of the Dukes of Laurent. Then Pitti "received" two side semicircular wings: Rondo Bacchus and Carriage Rondo. In addition, the so-called Palazzina Meridiana was built, which, translated into Russian, literally sounds like a “small palazzo”. In the Pitti Palace in Florence, traces of the influence of the Napoleonic era can also be seen: the palazzo contains the rooms of Maria Luisa Bourbon, the bathroom of Napoleon and the bathroom of Maria Luisa, designed by Giusepe Caccialli, who preferred the style of Tuscan neoclassicism.

Palazzo Pitti today

As mentioned above, several museums are combined under the roof of Palazzo Pitti, which daily host guests from different corners planets. First of all, we should mention the Palatina Gallery, known throughout the world for its unique collection of paintings, among which it is impossible not to mention the works of Titian and Raphael, Botticelli and Caravaggio, Velazquez and Van Dyck, Rubens and Filippo Lippi. In addition, the Gallery is open to visitors in Pitti. contemporary art in which the works Italian artists who worked in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Costume Museum acquaints travelers with clothing from different eras. By the way, this is the only museum of the Costume, which most fully gives an idea of ​​the history of fashion. The Silver Museum contains real treasures: gems, products made of gold, silver and ivory. The unique collection of vases cannot but delight: once collected by Lorenzo the Magnificent, vases of the Sassanid Empire (

We will walk to the left bank of the Arno River and walk to Pitti Square, where the largest Florentine palace is located - the Pitti Palace. There are as many as six museums in the palace, and behind the huge blooming Boboli Garden

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About three hundred meters from Ponte Vecchio, on the left bank of the Arno River, right along Via de "Guicciardini, there is a huge, by the standards of Florence, sloping Pitti Square, where the largest Florentine palace, the Palazzo Pitti, is located. Externally, it is not attractive, devoid of the characteristic Florence of that time decorations, the palace has a really impressive size, worthy not only of Florence, but also of Rome itself.

The construction of this building began in 1458, the city banker Luca Pitti, as a home for himself and his family. The banker planned to name this grandiose building in his honor - Palazzo Pitti. The dimensions were not chosen by chance, Pitti really wanted to surpass the size of the palace of his own ruler - the Medici, and he ordered the windows in his house larger than the doors in the Palazzo Medici. But, alas, a little later financial difficulties befell him and Luca Pitti died in 1472 without completing his own palace.

The unfinished palace was bought by the descendants of the Medici, and construction resumed in the 1570s. The new owners significantly changed the appearance of the building, the architect Vasari supervised the construction. The "New Medicis" wished to expand the building, so an overall extension appeared on the back side of the building, which doubled the area of ​​the palace. Vasari also created an elevated passage (yes, the very famous "Vasari Corridor"), which connected the Pitti Palace, the Vecchio Palace, the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and the Uffizi Gallery. With the help of such a corridor, members of the ruling family could quickly and safely move from one building to another.

Museums of Palazzo Pitti

A modern tourist does not have to admire the outside view of the palace, but not a single tourist will pass by the Pitti Palace. Now there are several rather interesting and entertaining museums here, and behind the palace are the luxurious Boboli Gardens.

There are six museums in Palazzo Pitti:

• Gallery of Contemporary Art;
• Palatine Gallery;
• costume gallery;
• Porcelain Museum;
• Silver Museum;
• Carriage Museum.

The Palatine Gallery is considered the main one, but only because this gallery represents the history and decoration of the palace. This is what the interior of the Palazzo Pitti looks like.

Boboli Gardens

Right behind the Pitti Palace are famous gardens Boboli. There will be a little more photos here, because many people come to Florence in winter, and the majority doubt whether to go or not to go. My opinion - allow forces and time - to go necessarily!

The gardens, as I said, begin right behind the Palazzo Pitti

A bit of Wikipedia:

The Boboli Gardens were founded at the direction of Eleanor of Toledo, wife of the Grand Duke Cosimo I (Medici). The arrangement of the park was entrusted to Niccolo Tribolo, and after his death in 1550 Bartolomeo Ammanati continued his work, Giorgio Vasari also participated in the design and construction of several grottoes.

The main axial path, leading between cypresses and holm oaks to the rear facade of the Palazzo Pitti, starts at the bottom at the amphitheater, resembling half of the classical hippodrome in its shape, and goes up to Boboli Hill. This amphitheater hosted the very first opera performances in the world.

Alleys of the park

Some modern art

fountain sculptures

Walking through the park you can meet mouth-watering compositions :)

You can post a whole gallery of photos, but it's better to see everything with your own eyes. You can walk here for a very long time, the territory of the park is more than 4.5 hectares. For clarity and scale assessment, a map of the left-bank part of Florence:

Well, after uniting with nature, you can return to art :)

The first works on the construction of the palace date back to the 15th century. Then, in 1458, he still had nothing to do with the ruling Medici dynasty. The initiator of the construction was Luca Pitti, a banker, whose name, thanks to this building, has forever remained in the annals. He was a friend and colleague of Cosimo de' Medici, but he built the palazzo exclusively for himself. It is believed that by building this palace, Pitti even sought to surpass the main residence of the ruling dynasty. He attracted the best architects and even specifically ordered the craftsmen to make the windows of the palazzo such that they were larger than the main entrance to the Medici residence. There are disputes about who was the main architect of the palace. This work is attributed to Luca Francelli. However, there is an opinion that it was not Luca who designed the entire structure, but his teacher Filippo Brunelleschi.

The grandiose construction had to be suspended in 1464 when Cosimo de' Medici died. Left without his friend and patron, the banker Pitti began to experience financial difficulties. As a result, he never saw the completed palace, having died in 1472. In the middle of the 16th century, the descendants of the banker were on the verge of ruin and were forced to sell the building. The buyer was Eleanor of Toledo - the wife of the then ruling Cosimo I de Medici. When the Palazzo Pitti became her property, it was decided to expand it, which eventually doubled its area. Initially, special guests were accommodated here, while the Medici continued to live in on the other side of the river. And only by the end of the 16th century, the ruling dynasty began to use the Palazzo Pitti for personal purposes - to host a meeting works of art, which members of the family acquired with great pleasure. The Medici lived here until the middle of the 18th century, until the death of Anna Maria - the only direct heiress. After Palazzo Pitti became the property of another dynasty. The next Grand Duke of Tuscany from the House of Lorraine, Franz I Stefan, settled here. During the Napoleonic wars, the palazzo was occupied for a period by the French emperor. Later, in 1860, the palazzo, like the whole of Tuscany, was under the leadership of the dynasty of Savoy rulers.

The Palazzo Pitti approached the modern format of the museum in 1919, when the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, transferred the building to state ownership and divided it into several separate art museums. From that moment on, the Palazzo Pitti began to store not only works of past centuries, but also artistic values ​​acquired by Italy in later years.

Architecture of Palazzo Pitti

The building is most often called a prime example quattrocento - a period of Italian art of the 15th century in the era of the Early Renaissance. Representing a traditional palazzo in form, the outside of the Pitti Palace was clearly different from the architectural trends familiar to the 15th century. One of the main features was the rusticated main facade of the building - it was densely lined with regular quadrangular stones with an unhewn front side. It is assumed that this technique was copied from the Palazzo Vecchio, the residence of the Medici, during the construction of which such decoration was used for the first time in Florence.

The completion of the Palazzo Pitti, initiated by the new owners of the building - the Medici, was carried out by Bartolomeo Ammanati. As a result, the length of the facade of the building became 205 meters, and the height of the three floors of the palace was marked at around 38 meters. The building became one of the best examples of the Italian Renaissance and continues to be so to this day.

During the work of Ammanati, some elements of the Palazzo Pitti were transformed: for example, the side entrance doors were replaced by high windows reaching to the floor. But the main merit of this master was the construction of the courtyard of the Palazzo Pitti.

To organize the space of this part of the palace, he used such architectural elements as semicircular arches, pilasters, columns. In the decoration of the walls, which are the boundary of the patio, various materials alternate.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Palazzo Pitti was expanded again. Two semicircular parts were added, which still frame the square in front of the palace. One of them was called the Bacchus Rondo, and the second - the Carriage Rondo.

How to get there

Palazzo Pitti can be found at Piazza de' Pitti, 1 (Pitti Square). From here you can also see the vast gardens of Boboli Hill, which occupy large area behind the palace. The area is located in the very center, so you can get here without difficulty.

Exact address: Piazza de' Pitti, 1 (Pitti Square).

Option 1

Bus: routes number C3 and D to the Pitti stop, which is located right in front of the front facade of Palazzo Pitti.

Option 1

Bus: route number 11 to the Piazza San Felice stop.

On foot: the way from the stop to the palace will take no more than 3-4 minutes.

Palazzo Pitti on the map

Gallery Palatine (Galerie Palatine)

The halls of this gallery are located on the second floor of the building and occupy almost the entire left wing of the Palazzo Pitti. Its interiors are made in the Baroque style and are distinguished by the luxury of decor. Here are the paintings of great artists different years, once acquired by representatives of the Medici dynasty. Later, the collection was supplemented by the following rulers of Tuscany - the Dukes of Lorraine. By placing exhibits here, representatives of the ruling dynasties relied on their own taste and did not seek to classify the works in any way. Then the main task of these paintings was to decorate the interior of the Palazzo Pitti. Today they are given much greater value. But, despite this, it was decided to leave many paintings in their places - where they were once hung by the Medici.

Residents of Florence first gained access to these halls of Palazzo Pitti in 1828. Then the best works were able to see not only the rulers and noble citizens, but also ordinary Italians. Raphael's canvases are a special pride of the Palatine Gallery. This is the only place where they are collected in such quantity: as many as 11 of his canvases are stored here. No less significant are the works belonging to the brushes of other creators. So, in this gallery you can admire the paintings of Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio, Van Dyck. Paintings by Italian artists are also stored here: for example, Giorgione, Tintoretto, as well as representatives of the mannerism of Pontormo, Bronzino and many others.

Gallery of contemporary art

Its rooms are also located on the second floor of Palazzo Pitti. Their no less luxuriously decorated walls contain works by Italian artists created by them from the end of the 18th century to the 30s of the 20th century. The paintings and sculptures exhibited here are the best examples of Neoclassical, Romantic and later Symbolist and Post-Impressionist styles. Landscapes and historical portraits blend seamlessly into the rich décor of this Palazzo Pitti gallery.

One of the most significant and striking in this part are the works of Florentine artists who considered themselves to be a group called Macchiaioli. This collection of artists worked in a special technique, according to which the image was obtained by combining color spots. Here you can see the paintings of the head of this creative association - Giovanni Fattori. Especially famous in the world of art were his landscapes. In addition to his paintings, in this gallery you can see paintings by such artists as Signorini, Pissarro, Boldini, Hayes, Magelli, Lega and some others.

Silver Museum (Museo degli Argenti)

Its museum rooms occupy the ground floor and mezzanine of Palazzo Pitti, which once served as a Medici summer house. The walls of these rooms are covered with frescoes, some of which were created in the 17th century on the occasion of the marriage of Ferdinand II de' Medici and Victoria della Rovere.

This museum is distinguished by a variety of exhibits and illustrates the wealth of the ducal court. Here you can see exclusive vases, plates and other cutlery, decorative elements, jewelry, and furniture. All these exhibits are made of silver and gold, ivory, semi-precious stones and amber. They belong to different periods, epochs and even states: here you can find amphorae ancient rome, Persian vases, a collection of porcelain products from and, which was born thanks to the Medici family back in the 15th century, and not only. In addition, in this part of the Palazzo Pitti there is a collection of European majolica, vases of mannerist forms of the late 16th century, various elements of oriental interiors.

The object of pride in the museum is the collection of unique vases owned by Lorenzo the Magnificent. It also contains jewelry that once belonged to Anna Maria Luisa - the last of the Medici family. An interesting collection called the "Salzburg Treasure". At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, it was brought to Palazzo Pitti from Lorraine by the Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand III and consisted mainly of silver exhibits.

Today, the Palazzo Pitti Silver Museum continues to grow gradually. This happens mainly due to donations from the descendants of the noble families of Florence, as well as thanks to items from various private collections. Particularly interesting and valuable exhibits come from the dynasties of Florentine jewelers. For such jewelry, which was donated or donated to the Silver Museum, a special part of the exposition is allocated.

Museum of carriages (Museo delle carrozze) and costume

This part of the museum is located in the Palazzone della Meridiana - an extension to the southern wing of the Palazzo Pitti. Its construction began in the last decades of the 18th century and was completed by 1830.

In the part devoted to carriages, you can at arm's length consider the means of transportation of Italian monarchs and noble citizens of the 18-19th centuries. One of the oldest is the carriage of the 18th century. Historians failed to establish its owner. The carriage is richly decorated in the Rococo style and is distinguished good quality elements. In these halls of the Palazzo Pitti, you can see the vehicles of Italian rulers from different times. So, here are stored the carriages of the Neapolitan monarch Ferdinand II of Bourbon and a carriage created specifically for three pairs of horses for Ferdinand III.

The museum allows you to see decorative elements made of precious metals and precious and semi-precious stones, carved and stucco decorations of carriages. In addition, on the walls of the gallery halls there is a collection of old whips used by coachmen.

The part dedicated to the costumes is also a special spectacle. Founded in Palazzo Pitti in 1983, it was the first public museum in Italy dedicated to the history of fashion and its social value. The exhibits displayed within the walls of this gallery show the development of fashion since the 16th century. The collection consists of the main elements of clothing, accessories, shoes, underwear, jewelry and bijouterie. There are about 6,000 exhibits in total. Here you can see everyday and formal dresses made of different materials, openwork sun umbrellas, hats and other headwear. Of particular value are the restored funeral costumes that belonged to Cosimo I de' Medici, his wife Eleanor of Toledo and their son, who died at the age of 15.

Over the years, the exposition has expanded and began to include not only the costumes of the ruling dynasties. It includes theater and film costumes, wardrobe items famous people and works of the best Italian and foreign fashion designers. So, for example, in these halls of the Palazzo Pitti you can see the costumes of Coco Chanel, examples of jewelry used by actresses in the theaters of Italy, wedding dresses of brides of the 20th century, dresses made by Versace and Gucci for Italian pop stars, and very modern items of clothing - for example , sneakers. Many dresses, both created several centuries ago and sewn recently, are richly decorated with beads, unique embroidery, lace and other similar elements.

Over the years of its existence, the museum's collection has become so large that it is not possible to simultaneously demonstrate to visitors all the exhibits at the disposal of this gallery of Palazzo Pitti. Therefore, it was decided to completely change all the exhibits every two years.

Opening hours and ticket prices

You can get to the Palazzo Pitti on all days of the week, except Monday, during the opening hours of the museum: from 08:15 to 18:50. The inspection takes a lot of time, so the last tickets are sold only until 18:05. The entrance fee is 13 euros ( ~923 rub. ). A reduced rate is provided, the price of which is half cheaper - 6.5 euros ( ~462 rub. ), but only EU citizens from 18 to 25 years old can apply for it. All visitors under the age of 18 can enter for free.

Also, a free pass is available to everyone on the first Sunday of every month.

To avoid long wait at the ticket office and the entrance to the Palazzo Pitti, especially during the tourist season, the museum management advises making a preliminary ticket reservation on or by phone (+39 055 294883). For schoolchildren, this procedure is free, and adults will have to pay an additional 3 euros for it ( ~213 rub. ) to the ticket price.

Palazzo Pitti - object with rich history and architecture and no less rich museum expositions. Each gallery that exists within its walls is unique and unrepeatable. Collections, many of which began to be collected by representatives of the Medici family and continued by their successors, today are carefully preserved and replenished by historians, museum workers and ordinary residents of Florence.

This palace provides visitors with the opportunity to see the life of art in Florence and all of Italy from its different sides, to trace its development, features, from the 15th century to the present day, to personally see the best works that once shocked the whole world with their genius. The palace also opens the doors to the daily and public life of several generations of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, introduces them to their tastes, interests, habits and traditions, tells more about them than any textbook could tell.

Palazzo Pitti - great way plunge headlong into the culture of this state, try to understand its features and details and look at everything around through the eyes of its best artists and great rulers.

Business card

Address

Piazza de' Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy

Official website of Palazzo Pitti

Price

Standard - 13 euros ( ~923 rub. );
Preferential (EU citizens from 18 to 25 years old) - 6.5 euros ( ~462 rub. );
Visitors under 18 - free of charge;
First Sunday of every month - free

Working hours

Tuesday-Sunday - from 08:15 to 18:50 (ticket office closes at 18:05)

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