Palazzo Pitti
Palazzo Pitti dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In the late 18th century, the palazzo 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 1919, the palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919.
About Palazzo Pitti in brief
Palazzo Pitti dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry and luxurious possessions. In the late 18th century, the palazzo 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 1919, the palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919. The Palazzo is now the largest museum complex in Florence. It is 32,000 square metres and divided into several principal galleries or museums detailed below. It was acquired in order to create a formal park and gardens, today known as the Boboli Gardens, for the Medicis’ court. The architect for this landscape was Francesco I Johanna I and his wife Johanna of Austria, who lived there until her death in 1872. The original design has withstood the test of time, and its influence can be seen in numerous 16th-century imitations and 19th- century revivals. The rusticated stonework gives the palazero 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 Florentines’ love of the new style all’antica. The 16th century art historian Giorgio Vasari proposed that Brunelleschi was the palazo’s architect, and that his pupil Luca Fancelli was merely his assistant in the task, but today it is fancelli who is generally credited. The palazzi was not used on a permanent basis and became home to the Medic’ court until the reign of Francesco II of Austria in 1881. It has been the home of the Italian ambassador to the U.S. since 1883. The main entrance to the Palazzi is at 43°45′55″N 11°15′00″E 43. 7652°N 11.2501°E） 43.7652; 11. 2501; 43.5°45″N; 43° 45′55’E. The original building was commissioned in 1458 by Pitti, a principal supporter and friend of Cosimo de’ Medici, later the Grand Duke. The current building was completed in 1472 with the building unfinished. The building was sold in 15 49 to Eleonora di Toledo, the wife ofCosimo I de’ Medici. Cosimo had Vasari enlarge the structure to fit his tastes; the palace was more than doubled by the addition of a new block along the rear.
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This page is based on the article Palazzo Pitti published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
