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Uffizi Gallery

Treasures of Renaissance Art

The Uffizi Gallery is located on the north bank of the Arno River in Florence, adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria. It is one of the world's top art museums, with a collection of paintings and sculptures by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and other Italian Renaissance artists.

In 1560, Giorgio Vasari was invited by the Medici family to build a U-shaped palace building on the north bank of the Arno River in Florence. The Riverside Portico has Doric columns supporting the upper arches are highly ornamental. Soon after, the Medici family used it as a repository for their own collection, which gradually grew to today’s Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi).

The Uffizi Gallery is one of the world’s finest art museums, and thanks to the Medici family, it houses an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures. Even the 28 Statues of Famous Artists in the Courtyard are works of famous Italian sculptors.

Bacchus, Caravaggio, 1596

Manywhere Trivia:
The Uffizi complex was originally built as offices for local officials, hence the name Uffizi, “offices”.

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, 1485

The Uffizi Gallery is considered an encyclopedia of the Italian Renaissance, with well-known collections including Birth of Venus and Spring by Botticelli, the Doni Tondo by Michelangelo, Venus of Urbino by Titian, Bacchus by Caravaggio, Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, and Ognissanti Madonna by Giotto, etc.

The Doni Tondo by Michelangelo, 1506

During its construction, Vasari also built an elevated corridor called the Vasari Corridor. Starting from the Uffizi Gallery, the corridor goes through the Ponte Vecchio across the Arno River to the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens on the south bank, which are also owned by the Medici family.