Galleria degli Uffizi

Galleria degli Uffizi Review

The venerable Uffizi Gallery occupies the top floor of the U-shaped Palazzo degli Uffizi, designed by Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) in 1560 to hold the uffizi (administrative offices) of the Medici grand duke Cosimo I (1519-74). Later, the Medici installed their art collections here, creating what was Europe's first modern museum, open to the public (at first only by request) since 1591.

Among the highlights are Paolo Uccello's Battle of San Romano, its brutal chaos of lances one of the finest visual metaphors for warfare ever captured in paint (at press time, it was in restoration); the Madonna and Child with Two Angels, by Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-69), in which the impudent eye contact established by the angel would have been unthinkable prior to the Renaissance; the Birth of Venus and Primavera by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), the goddess of the former seeming to float on air and the fairy-tale charm of the latter exhibiting the painter's idiosyncratic genius at its zenith; the portraits of the Renaissance duke Federico da Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza, by Piero della Francesca (circa 1420-92); the Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael (1483-1520), which underwent a stunning years-long restoration, completed in 2009 (check out the brilliant blues that decorate the sky, as well as the eye contact between mother and child, both clearly anticipating the painful future; Michelangelo's Doni Tondo; the Venus of Urbino by Titian (circa 1488/90-1576); and the splendid Bacchus by Caravaggio (circa 1571/72-1610). In the last two works, the approaches to myth and sexuality are diametrically opposed, to put it mildly. Don't forget to see the Caravaggios, which are in an easily-missable room during the exiting process.

Late in the afternoon is the least crowded time to visit. For a €4 fee, advance tickets can be reserved by phone, online, or, once in Florence, at the Uffizi reservation booth (advance tickets Consorzio ITA, Piazza Pitti 1 055/294883) at least one day in advance of your visit. Keep the confirmation number and take it with you to the door at the museum marked "Reservations." Usually you're ushered in almost immediately. Come with cash, because credit cards are not accepted (though you can use a credit card when booking online). When there's a special exhibit on, which is often, the base ticket price goes up to €11.