Michelangelo Buonarroti

Originally the residence of the wealthy Florentine banker Luca Pitti, this magnificent palace was purchased in 1550 by Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, who established his court there with his wife Eleonora of Toledo. After two centuries, from 1737, the palace was to be the residence of the Lorraine family, who succeeded the Medici in the Grand Duchy, and later of the Savoy family during the five years when Florence was the capital of Italy.

The Uffizi, built between 1560 and 1580 to a design by Giorgio Vasari, is among the most important museums in the world for its extraordinary collections of ancient sculptures and paintings (from the Middle Ages to the modern age).

The ancient Palazzo del Podestà in Florence now houses the Bargello National Museum. Devoted mainly to sculpture, it is part of the ‘Bargello Museums’ together with the Medici Chapels, Orsanmichele, Palazzo Davanzati and Casa Martelli.