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Palazzo Pitti

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Architecture

   Early, tinted 20th-century photograph of the Palazzo Pitti, then still
   known as La Residenza Reale following the residency of King Emmanuel II
   between 1865–71, when Florence was the capital of Italy.
   Enlarge
   Early, tinted 20th-century photograph of the Palazzo Pitti, then still
   known as La Residenza Reale following the residency of King Emmanuel II
   between 1865–71, when Florence was the capital of Italy.

   The Palazzo Pitti (sometimes called the Pitti Palace) is a vast mainly
   Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side
   of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of
   the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town
   residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. It was bought
   by the Medici family in 1539 as the official residence of the ruling
   families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

   In the 19th century, the palazzo, by then a great treasure house, was
   used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period
   as the principal royal palace of the newly-united Italy. In the early
   20th century, the palazzo together with its contents was given to the
   Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III; subsequently its doors were
   opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries. Today,
   housing several minor additions in addition to those of the Medici
   family, it is fully open to the public.

History

Early history

   Luca Pitti (1398–1472) began work on the palazzo in 1458.
   Enlarge
   Luca Pitti (1398–1472) began work on the palazzo in 1458.
   Eleonora di Toledo, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, purchased the palazzo
   from the Pitti family in 1549 for the Medici family. Portrait by Agnolo
   Bronzino.
   Enlarge
   Eleonora di Toledo, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, purchased the palazzo
   from the Pitti family in 1549 for the Medici family. Portrait by Agnolo
   Bronzino.

   The construction of this severe, almost forbidding, building was
   commissioned in 1458 by the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, a principal
   supporter and friend of Cosimo de' Medici. The early history of the
   Palazzo Pitti is a mixture of fact and myth. Pitti wanted to build, it
   was said, a large palazzo which would outshine the Palazzo Medici. It
   is claimed that he specifically instructed that the windows should be
   larger than the entrance of the Palazzo Medici. It has been said by no
   less a person than Vasari that Brunelleschi was the palazzo's
   architect, and that his pupil Luca Fancelli was simply his assistant in
   the task - today it is Fancelli that is generally credited. Besides
   obvious differences from the elder architect's style, Brunelleschi died
   12 years before construction of the palazzo began. The design and
   fenestration suggest that the unknown architect was more experienced in
   utilitarian domestic architecture than in the humanist rules defined by
   Alberti in his book De Re Aedificatoria.

   The original palazzo, though impressive, would have been no rival to
   the magnificence of the Florentine Medici residences in terms of either
   size or content. Whoever the architect of the Palazzo Pitti was, he was
   moving against the contemporary flow of fashion. The rusticated
   stonework gives the palazzo a severe and powerful atmosphere,
   reinforced by the three times repeated series of seven arch-headed
   apertures, reminiscent of a Roman aqueduct. The Roman-style
   architecture appealed to the Florentine love of the new style
   all'antica. This original design has withstood the test of time, and
   its influence has been maintained and continued during the subsequent
   additions to the palazzo. Work stopped after Pitti suffered financial
   reverses following the death of Cosimo de' Medici in 1464. Luca Pitti
   died in 1472 with the building uncompleted.

The Medici

   A lunette painted in 1599 by Giusto Utens, depicts the palazzo before
   its extensions, with the amphitheatre and the Boboli Gardens behind.
   The red stone excavated from the site was used in extensions to the
   palazzo.
   Enlarge
   A lunette painted in 1599 by Giusto Utens, depicts the palazzo before
   its extensions, with the amphitheatre and the Boboli Gardens behind.
   The red stone excavated from the site was used in extensions to the
   palazzo.

   The building was sold in 1549 by Buonaccorso Pitti, a descendant of
   Luca Pitti, to Eleonora di Toledo. Raised at the luxurious court of
   Naples, Eleonora was the wife of Cosimo I de' Medici of Tuscany, now
   the Grand Duke. On moving into the palace, Cosimo had Vasari enlarge
   the structure to fit his tastes; the palace was more than doubled by
   the addition of a new block onto the rear. Vasari also built an
   above-ground walkway from Cosimo's old palace, the Palazzo Vecchio,
   through the Uffizi, above the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti.

   Land on the hill called Boboli at the rear of the palazzo was acquired
   in order to create a large formal park, the Boboli Gardens. The
   landscape architect employed for this was the Medici court artist
   Niccolo Tribolo, who died the following year; he was quickly succeeded
   by Bartolommeo Ammanati. The original design of the gardens centred on
   an amphitheatre, behind the corps de logis of the palazzo, in which the
   classically-inspired plays of Florentine playwrights such as Giovan
   Battista Cini were performed for the amusement of the cultivated Medici
   court, with elaborate sets designed by the court architect Baldassarre
   Lanci.
   Martyrdom of St Agatha by Sebastiano del Piombo, acquired by the Medici
   for the Palazzo Pitti.
   Enlarge
   Martyrdom of St Agatha by Sebastiano del Piombo, acquired by the Medici
   for the Palazzo Pitti.

   With the garden project well in hand, Ammanati turned his attentions to
   creating a large courtyard immediately behind the principal facade, to
   link the palazzo to its new garden. This courtyard has heavy-banded
   channelled rustication that has been widely copied, notably for the
   Parisian palais of Maria de' Medici, the Luxembourg. Ammanati also
   created the finestre inginocchiate("kneeling" windows, in reference to
   their imagined resemblance to a prie-dieu, a device of Michelangelo's)
   in the principal facade, replacing the entrance bays at each end.
   During the years 1558-70, Ammanati created a monumental staircase to
   lead with more pomp to the piano nobile, and he extended the wings on
   the garden front that embraced a courtyard excavated into the steeply
   sloping hillside at the same level as the piazza in front, from which
   it was visible through the central arch of the basement. On the garden
   side of the courtyard Amannati constructed a grotto, called the "grotto
   of Moses" for the porphyry statue that inhabits it. On the terrace
   above it, level with the piano nobile windows, Ammanati constructed a
   fountain centered on the axis; it was later replaced by the Fontana del
   Carciofo ("Fountain of the Artichoke"), designed by Giambologna's
   former assistant, Francesco Susini, and completed in 1641.

   In 1616 a competition was opened to design extensions to the principal
   urban facade by three bays at either end. Giulio Parigi won the
   commission; work on the north side began in 1618, and on the south side
   in 1631 by Alfonso Parigi. During the 18th century, two perpendicular
   wings were constructed by the architect Giuseppe Ruggeri to enhance and
   stress the widening of via Romana, which creates a piazza centered on
   the façade, the prototype of the cour d'honneur that was copied in
   France. Sporadic lesser additions and alterations were made for many
   years thereafter under other rulers and architects.

Houses of Lorraine and Savoy

   19th-century architectural drawing and plan of the Palazzo Pitti.
   Enlarge
   19th-century architectural drawing and plan of the Palazzo Pitti.

   The palazzo remained the principal Medici residence until the last male
   Medici heir died in 1737, whereupon it passed to the new Grand Dukes of
   Tuscany, the Austrian House of Lorraine, in the person of Francis I,
   Holy Roman Emperor. The Austrian tenancy was briefly interrupted by
   Napoleon, who used the Pitti during his period of control over Italy.

   When Tuscany passed from the House of Lorraine to the House of Savoy in
   1860, the Palazzo Pitti was included. After the Risorgimento, when
   Florence was briefly the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, Vittorio
   Emanuele II resided in the Pitti until 1871. His grandson, Vittorio
   Emanuele III, presented the Pitti to the nation in 1919. The palazzo
   and other buildings in the Boboli Gardens then became divided into five
   separate art galleries and a museum, housing not only many of its
   original contents, but priceless artifacts from many other collections
   acquired by the state. The 140 rooms open to the public are part of an
   interior, which is in large part a later product than the original
   portion of the structure, mostly created in two phases, one in the 17th
   century and the other in the early 18th century. Some earlier interiors
   remain, and there are still later additions such as the Throne Room. In
   2005 the surprise discovery of forgotten 18th-century bathrooms in the
   palazzo revealed remarkable examples of contemporary plumbing very
   similar in style to the bathrooms of the 21st century.

Palazzo Pitti galleries

   The palazzo is now the largest museum complex in Florence. The
   principal palazzo block, often in a building of this design known as
   the corps de logis, is 32,000  square metres. It is divided into
   several principal galleries or museums detailed below.

Palatine Gallery

   Raphael's La Donna Velata, from the Medici collection in the Palatine
   collection
   Enlarge
   Raphael's La Donna Velata, from the Medici collection in the Palatine
   collection

   The Palatine Gallery, on the first floor of the piano nobile, is
   perhaps the most famous of the galleries, a large ensemble of over 500
   principally Renaissance paintings, which were once part of the Medicis'
   and their successors' private art collection. The gallery, which
   overflows into the royal apartments, contains works by Raphael, Titian,
   Correggio, Rubens, and Pietro da Cortona. The character of the gallery
   is still that of a private collection, and the works of art are
   displayed and hung much as they would have been in the grand rooms for
   which they were intended rather than following a chronological
   sequence, or arranged according to school of art.

   The finest rooms were decorated by Pietro da Cortona in the high
   baroque style. Cortona's huge, well-received, frescoes depicting the
   Age of Gold and Age of Silver in the Salla della Stuffa were painted in
   1637, and followed in 1641 by the Age of Copper and Age of Iron.
   Representing the turmoil of life, they are regarded among his
   masterpieces. The artist was subsequently asked to fresco a suite of
   seven rooms at the front of the palazzo. The theme for these was to be
   the astrological influence on the life of the ruler. By 1647, when
   Cortona left Florence, he had finished only three rooms, Mars, Jupiter
   and Venus, they were to inspire the later Planet Rooms at Louis XIV's
   Versailles, designed by Le Brun. The other rooms were completed in the
   1660s by Ciro Ferri.

   The collection was first opened to the public in the late 18th century,
   albeit rather reluctantly, by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, Tuscany's
   first enlightened ruler, keen to obtain popularity after the demise of
   the Medici.

Royal Apartments

   This is a suite of 14 rooms, formerly used by the Medici family, and
   lived in by their successors. These rooms have been largely altered
   since the era of the Medici, most recently in the 19th century. They
   contain a collection of Medici portraits, many of them by the artist
   Giusto Sustermans. In contrast to the great salons containing the
   Palatine collection, some of these rooms are much smaller and more
   intimate, and, while still grand and gilded, more suited to day to day
   living requirements. Period furnishings include four-poster beds and
   other necessary furnishings not found elsewhere in the palazzo. The
   Kings of Italy last used the Palazzo Pitti in the 1920s. By that time
   it had already been converted to a museum, but a suite of rooms (now
   the Gallery of Modern Art) was reserved for them when visiting Florence
   officially.

Gallery of Modern Art

   Mary Stuart at Crookstone, by Giovanni Fattori, in the Gallery of
   Modern Art at the Palazzo Pitti.
   Enlarge
   Mary Stuart at Crookstone, by Giovanni Fattori, in the Gallery of
   Modern Art at the Palazzo Pitti.

   This large collection, spread over 30 rooms, includes works by artists
   of the Macchiaioli movement and of other modern Italian schools of the
   late 19th and early 20th centuries. The pictures by the Macchiaioli
   artists are of particular note, as this school of 19th-century Tuscan
   painters led by Giovanni Fattori were early pioneers and the founders
   of the impressionist movement. The title gallery of modern art, to
   some, may sound incorrect, as the art in the gallery covers the period
   from 1700 to early 1900. No examples of later art are included in the
   collection. This is because in Italy "Modern Art" refers to the period
   before World War II what has followed since that period is generally
   known as "Contemporary Art" (arte contemporanea). In Tuscany this art
   can be found at the Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci at
   Prato, a city a short distance of approximately 15 Kilometers from
   Florence.

Silver Museum

   The Silver Museum, sometimes called "The Medici Treasury", contains a
   collection of priceless silver, cameos, and works in semi-precious
   gemstones, many of the latter from the collection of Lorenzo de'
   Medici, including his collection of ancient vases, many with delicate
   silver gilt mounts added for display purposes in the 15th century.
   These rooms, formerly part of the private royal apartments, are
   decorated with 17th-century frescoes, the most splendid being by
   Giovanni di San Giovanni, from 1635 to 1636. The Silver Museum also
   contains a fine collection of German gold and silver artefacts
   purchased by Grand Duke Ferdinand after his return from exile in 1815,
   following the French occupation.

Porcelain Museum

   First opened in 1973, this museum is housed in the Casino del Cavaliere
   in the Boboli Gardens. The porcelain is from many of the most notable
   European porcelain factories, Sèvres, Meissen, and Dresden being well
   represented. Many items in the collection were gifts to the Florentine
   rulers from other European sovereigns, while other works were specially
   commissioned by the Grand Ducal court. Of particular note are several
   large dinner services by Vincennes factory, later renamed Sèvres, and a
   collection of small biscuit figurines.

Costume Gallery

   This gallery, situated in a wing of the palazzo known as the "Palazzina
   della Meridiana", contains a collection of theatrical costumes dating
   from the 16th century until the present. It is also the only museum in
   Italy detailing the history of Italian fashions. One of the newer
   collections to the palazzo, it was founded in 1983 by Kristen
   Aschengreen Piacenti; it displays in addition to the theatrical
   costumes, garments worn between the 18th century and the present day.
   Some of the exhibits are peculiar to the Palazzo Pitti; these include
   the 16th-century funeral clothes of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, and
   Eleonora of Toledo, and her son Garzia, both of whom died of malaria.
   Their bodies would have been displayed in state wearing the finest
   clothes, before being reclothed in more simple attire before interment.
   The gallery also exhibits a collection of mid-20th century costume
   jewellery.
   The pathway, leading to the amphitheatre (in the hinterground) of the
   Palace's Boboli Gardens.
   Enlarge
   The pathway, leading to the amphitheatre (in the hinterground) of the
   Palace's Boboli Gardens.

Carriages Museum

   This ground floor museum exhibits carriages and other conveyances used
   by the grand ducal court mainly in the late 18th and 19th century. Some
   of these carriages are highly decorative, being adorned by not only
   gilt but painted landscapes on their panels. Those which were used on
   the grandest occasions, such as the "Carrozza d'Oro" (golden carriage)
   are surmounted by gilt crowns which would have indicated the rank and
   station of the carriage's occupants. Other carriages on view are those
   used by the King of the Two Sicilies, and Archbishops and other
   Florentine dignitaries.

The Palazzo today

   The Palazzo Pitti, an exhibition centre and tourist attraction.
   Photographed in 2005 from the Piazzale.
   Enlarge
   The Palazzo Pitti, an exhibition centre and tourist attraction.
   Photographed in 2005 from the Piazzale.

   Compared to many of Italy's great palazzi the exterior of the Palazzo
   Pitti at first glance pales: the palazzo does not have the overpowering
   and commanding presence of Caserta or the citadel features of the Royal
   Palace of Turin, nor the elegance of the Naples Palace or Rome's papal,
   later royal, palace, the Quirinal, both with facades by Domenico
   Fontana. The Palazzo Pitti's architectural merit is in its great
   severity and simplicity. One continual architectural theme used
   throughout four centuries has produced massive but impressive
   elevations and facades which belie the long evolution and history of
   the structure. The architecture commands attention by virtue of size,
   strength and the reflection of the sun on the glass and stone, coupled
   with the repetitive, almost monotonous theme. Ornament and elegance of
   design take second place to the vast and solid mass of rusticated
   stonework relieved solely by the arcade-like frequency of the arched
   window embrasures. As with many Italian palazzi one has to enter the
   building in order to truly appreciate its architecture.

   Control of the palazzo, today transformed from royal palace to museum,
   is in the hands of the Italian state through the "Polo Museale
   Fiorentino", an institution which administers twenty museums, including
   the Uffizi Gallery, and has ultimate responsibility for 250,000
   catalogued works of art. In spite of its metamorphosis from royal
   residence to a state-owned public building, the palazzo, sitting on its
   elevated site overlooking Florence, still retains the air and
   atmosphere of a private collection in a grand house. This is to a great
   extent thanks to the organisation "Amici di Palazzo Pitti" (Friends of
   the Palazzo Pitti), a group of volunteers and patrons founded in 1996,
   which raises funds and makes suggestions for the ongoing maintenance of
   the palazzo and the collections, and for the continuing improvement of
   their visual display.
   The Garden-façade.
   Enlarge
   The Garden-façade.

   Now in its sixth century, the Palazzo Pitti is more splendid and better
   maintained than at any time in its history. Florence receives over five
   million visitors each year, and for many of these the Palazzo Pitti is
   an essential stop. Thus the palazzo still impresses visitors with the
   splendours of Florence, the purpose for which, it was originally built.
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