Palazzo Pitti

The Palazzo Pitti is the largest museum complex in Florence, a massive rusticated palace facing a sloping piazza in the Oltrarno. Its core dates from 1458, when the banker Luca Pitti began a residence designed to outshine the Medici, but he ran out of money and the building was sold in 1549 to Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. It became the main home of the grand dukes of Tuscany, was later used by Napoleon and the House of Savoy, and was given to the Italian state in 1919. Since 2015 it has been managed by the Uffizi Galleries.

There are several museums inside. The Palatine Gallery on the first floor is the main draw: a sequence of richly decorated rooms hung floor to ceiling with paintings from the Medici collection, including major works by Raphael, Titian and Rubens, displayed in the old princely manner rather than by period. Next door are the Royal Apartments, redecorated in the 19th century for the Savoy kings. Upstairs, the Gallery of Modern Art covers Italian painting from the 18th to the early 20th century, with a strong collection of the Macchiaioli. On the ground floor, the Treasury of the Grand Dukes shows Medici silver, cameos, jewels and hardstone work, and the Museum of Fashion and Costume traces the history of Italian dress.

Tickets for the palace and for the Boboli Gardens are sold separately or as combined passes; the Firenzecard covers both. The palace museums are closed on Mondays. It is much less crowded than the Uffizi, so it suits visitors who want to see great paintings at a calmer pace. Allow two to three hours if you visit the Palatine Gallery and one other museum, and a full afternoon if you add the gardens.

Families may prefer to combine a short visit to the Palatine Gallery with time in the gardens behind. The palace is large and involves long walks between rooms, so ask at the entrance about step-free routes if you need them.

The palace is a five-minute walk from the Ponte Vecchio along Via Guicciardini. Santo Spirito, the artisan streets of the Oltrarno and the Boboli Gardens are right next door.