 Introduzione
The greatest art gallery in Italy is one of the largest museums in the world covering an area of about 8.000 sq.m.and a fitting memorial to the town's importance as the cradle of the Renaissance, this art museum contains one of the greatest collections of paintings in existence. It was built in the mid-sixteenth century, following a project by the architect Giorgio Vasari and still houses some of the most famous works of art by Italian and foreign painters from the 13th to 19th centuries, such as Tiziano, Cimabue, Giotto, Masaccio, Tintoretto, Leonardo, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Piero della Francesca, Raffaello, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Durer and Goya. The Gallery of the Uffizi was also the first museum ever to be opened to the public: in fact the Grand Duke granted permission to visit it on request from the year 1591. Its four centuries of history make the Uffizi Gallery the oldest museum in the world.
 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 for many of the 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 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. In 1993, a car bomb exploded in Via dei Georgofili 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.
 Location
Address: Piazzale degli Uffizi, 50122 Firenze
Transit: Bus: Service from Santa Maria Novella Station, bus 23.
 Collections
Here is only a small selection from the world-class collection of paintings:
Cimabue (Maesta)
Duccio (Maesta)
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 (The Annunciation, The Adoration of the Magi)
Piero di Cosimo (Perseus liberating Andromeda)
Albrecht Durer (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)
Andrea del Verrocchio (The Baptism of Christ)
 Useful information
Telephone: +39 0552388651
E-mail:direzione.uffizi@tin.it
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 8,15 ? 18,50
Closed Monday, New Year's Day, May 1st and Christmas Day.
Disabled: Lifts at entrance and exit.
 Utili
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