A GLIMPSE AT COURT LIFE

Home to three royal households, the Pitti Palace has been a symbol of power and wealth since 1550, when Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici first settled here, on the southern bank of the River Arno and moved his residence from the medieval Palazzo Vecchio to this Renaissance mansion. For almost two hundred years the building was the prestigious private palace of the Medici family, insatiable collectors who began accumulating a host of priceless artefacts, including paintings, sculptures, furnishings and jewellery, which can still be admired on display in the halls of the palazzo. In 1737, when the Medici dynasty came to an end, Palazzo Pitti became the family home of members of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and from 1865 to 1871 even the King of Italy of the House of Savoy resided here.

The 32,000-square-metre palazzo still bears the name of the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, the original owner of the building who ordered its construction in the mid-15th century. Today it hosts four museums: the Treasury of the Grand Dukes, housing a hoard of precious stones, ivories, silverware and porcelain; the Palatine Gallery and Royal Apartments, featuring the Medici’s collection of paintings and opulently decorated rooms; the Gallery of Modern Art, displaying artworks from Neoclassicism to the 1930s; the Museum of Costume and Fashion, the first state museum dedicated to the history of fashion where accessories and clothing dating from the 18th to the 20th centuries can be found.

Your guide will lead you through the halls of this remarkable palazzo and make sure you take note of the highlights. Not to be missed is the rare and immensely valuable collection of 16th and 17th century paintings that hang inside the Palatine Gallery, boasting works by Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Rubens. You will also take a peek at the Royal Apartments comprising fourteen rooms sumptuously furnished with silk tapestries, wooden cabinets, oriental vases, glass mirrors and chandeliers collected throughout the centuries by all three dynasties, thus reflecting the different styles and decorative tastes of the ages.

Your knowledge of life at court would not be complete without a leisurely stroll through the magnificent pleasure gardens of Boboli, extending behind the Pitti Palace up to the ancient city walls of Porta Romana. As you roam through these grounds, dotted with grottoes, fountains and statues, listen to your guide recount the intriguing tales and eccentricities of those who once frequented this site. Even their favourite pets could often be spotted here. Did you know that a much-loved hippopotamus used to saunter around the premises in the 18th century?