This famous museum, hosted inside Uffizi Palace, is one of the most admired and visited museums in the world housing great works of art and history from the 13th to the 18th centuries by both Italian and foreign artists. Its four centuries of history make the Uffizi Gallery the oldest museum in the world. The museum was originated Francesco Medici, who felt the desire to have something to admire during his walks, and covers an area of approximately 8,000 square meters. He closed the second floor with huge windows and then there arranged part of the Grand Ducal collection, which included classical statues, medals, jewelry, weapons, paintings, and scientific instruments..
It was also the first museum ever to be opened to the public when the Grand Duke granted permission to visit it in 1591. The Medici's were untiring collectors, constantly enriching the Gallery throughout the years adding important collections like that from the inheritance left by Ferdinand II mother, Vittoria della Rovere (1631). A collection of Self-portraits can be found exhibited today in the Vasari Corridor linking the Uffizi to the royal Pitti Palace.
Other acquisitions to the gallery came from Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici (1617-1675), which created the basis of the Gallery of Prints and Drawings, found on the first floor, containing a vast collection of drawings by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Pontormo, Vasari, and others. Three of the powerful wooden trusses that held up the ceiling were brought to light in 1978 and can be seen today in the Room of Botticelli. The exhibition rooms are now composed of over 45 rooms containing about 1.700 paintings, 300 sculptures, 46 tapestries and 14 pieces of furniture and/or ceramics. The Uffizi owns about 4.800 works, the remainder of which are either in storage or on loan to other museums.
