Uffizi Galleries

The Uffizi Galleries stand along the southern bank of the Arno in Florence, occupying the long U-shaped palazzo commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici in the sixteenth century and designed by Giorgio Vasari. Originally built to house the administrative offices of the Florentine magistrates, the building was gradually transformed into one of the earliest purpose-built gallery spaces in Europe, with Francesco I de' Medici opening the top-floor corridor to display the family's extraordinary art collection in 1581. Today the Uffizi holds one of the most significant collections of Renaissance painting anywhere in the world, including Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian, and a vast holding of ancient sculpture.

Running above the rooftops from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti, the Vasari Corridor is among Florence's most remarkable architectural curiosities. The private tour currently on offer takes visitors through both the gallery's celebrated rooms and this elevated passageway, giving access to spaces and perspectives that remain closed during standard opening hours.