The Uffizi Palace dates back to 1560, when Cosimo I of the Medici Family was in full reign in Florence. This palace, as well as many others in Florence from the same period, was done by the famous Florentine architect Giorgio Vasari and carried on by Buontalenti who designed the Tribune.

The horse shoe structure, that makes up the Uffizi Palace, stretches from Piazza della Signoria to the Arno and is connected by a passageway to Palazzo Vecchio, also in the same Piazza. It is then connected to Pitti Palace by the Vasari Corridor which passes above the Arno River.

The word Uffizi means offices and in fact, the palace was built to house the offices of the judges who administered government in Florence. The offices are found all above ground level on a second floor whereas on the first floor ground level, art workshops and studios were created for local artisans who worked with materials in glass, ceramics, metals and stones.

Uffizi Palace

The Uffizi Palace also hosts an art Gallery that was originally created to gather the numerous paintings, mostly accumulated by the Medici family found, around the palace. The Uffizi Gallery, opened to the public in the 16th century, is now one of the most famous, and oldest, art museums in the world. Its creation began with Francesco I of the Medici's when he enclosed the Gallery on the second floor, with huge windows and began the arrangement of the collection, acquired over the years by the Grand Ducal, which included statues, paintings, jewelry, weapons, medals, and instruments. World renowned artists like Cimabue, Giotto, Caravaggio, Raphael, Botticelli, and Michelangelo have their painting exhibited here.