After coming out of Galleria dell'Accademia, I roamed all over the Historic Centre of Florence as I had booked my entry into Uffizi at 11:15, plus since Duomo visit flopped. Since it was prime time, the crowd was pretty much. The security is pretty much like airport style security and there's a cloak room free of charge. People where sent in, in batches and there was a waiting time and a queue as well! And as the map suggested, I went directly to 2nd floor. The gallery has sculptures and paintings since Ancient Greek era till Late Renaissance.
This building was built in 1560 by Georgio Vasari. To begin with, the exquisiteness began with the corridor itself. I've been trying to find out but I don't know when were the ceiling frescoes of the corridors were made. The entire corridor is filled with sculptures at equidistant and paintings hanging on the wall between them. And here I got to see some of the sculptures and paintings that I've read about and studied extensively in Uni days. That's something I studied in Uni days for the costume worn by the woman in the painting. That's the Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son, painted by Bronzino in 1545.2 main sculptures in this corridor are a copy of Laocoon & Sons and Hercules and Nessus. Hercules & Nessus is an ancient Roman sculpture of 3rd C BCE which was restored in 16th C with the bits and pieces of fragments left. Another interesting sculpture here was of Demetra, again a Roman sculpture of 430-400 BCE. What makes it all the more interesting is that its has a black colored robe on it which was also made of stone. I don't know how he managed that!In the Tribune hall (an octoganal hall) were the prized possessions of ancient Classical Greek & Roman sculptures and High Renaissance paintings! Bang at the centre was Venus de' Medici made in 1st C BCE. Beside it was Wrestlers, an ancient Roman sculpture of 3rd C BCE, depicting a composition of 2 men wrestling. Also here is Arrotino, a Hellinistic Roman sculpture of 1st C BCE which depicts a man crouching and sharpening his knife. In the rooms ahead was the temporary exhibition when I went on paintings done on wood carvings, very much similar to the extensive collection in Galleria dell'Accademia. This is Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints by Lorenzo di Pietro made in 1457 CE.The usual place where Botticelli's paintings were kept was under renovation when I went, but fortunately the paintings were relocated to another room, so thankfully I wasn't dejected. And I was more than exuberent to see his masterpieces, again that I studied in my Uni days, with my own eyes - Birth of Venus (c.1484-6 CE) and La Primavera (c. 1482 CE)!![]()
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The 2nd floor wraps up with the golden room, Niobe. Quite literally, its gilded with gold detailing in the ceiling & walls. This is filled with 17 sculptures of 15th - 16th C CE. Beyond this is the refreshment area with cafe and the view of Duomo from here is just spectacular.The 1st floor begins with quite a few ancient Roman Hellenistic sculptures incl Doryphorus Torso of the 1st half of 1st C CE. This is made of a very strong mineral called Bassanite and I'm unsure if its harder than granite. The sleeping beauty is actually a Hermaphrodite of Roman Art of 1st - 2nd C CE. Though looks like a female, complete with b*easts, from the other side it also has a p*nis!!!![]()
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To Get There:
Nearest Metro Station: Santa Maria Novella
Nearest Bus stop: San Marco Rettorato
Entry Ticket: €8.00; €4.00 (if you're below 25 yrs of age and an EU citizen)
Plus if there any temporary exhibition happening there, that cost is extra and that cost in not optional. You cannot say that you don't want to see the exhibition!!! I paid €4.00 for painted wooden sculptures exhibition.
Plus €4.00 as reservation charges if booked online
Timings: 8:15AM to 6:50PM
Here are some tips:
There are way too many sites that sell tickets for entry and I had a tough time to figure out which is real and which is fake, so let me make your life easier - Official Uffizi Tickets by B-Ticket, the only official channel as authorized by Ministry of Heritage & Tourism of Govt of Italy.Italians do not call is Florence. Its an anglicized term. They call the place Firenze. Follow the Museum map, that's the easiest way to see all the rooms of the gallery, without missing too much (I say this, coz to not miss anything at all, is almost impossible).
If you're into art history or an art buff, you could see just Uffizi for 2 days minimum. But just to justify saying that you've been to Uffizi, dedicate atleast 2 hrs to it!
