Florence & Tuscany - Italy - page 975

the Baptist (c 1490-95) in the Sala di Prometeo; Raphael's Madonna of the Window
(1513-14) in the Sala di Ulisse; and Caravaggio's Sleeping Cupid (1608) in the Sala
dell'Educazione di Giove.
Don't miss the Sala di Saturno, full of magnificent works by Raphael. The sentimental
favourite, Tiberio Titi's charming portrait of the young Prince Leopoldo de' Medici, hangs
in the Sala di Apollo and the Sala di Venere shines with Titian's Portrait of a Lady (c
1536).
Past the Sala di Venere are the Appartamenti Reali OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Royal Apart-
ments; 8.15am-6.50pm Tue-Sun Feb-Dec) , a series of rooms presented as they were c
1880-91, when they were occupied by members of the House of Savoy. The style and di-
vision of tasks assigned to each room is reminiscent of Spanish royal palaces, all heavily
bedecked with drapes, silk and chandeliers.
Forget about Marini, Mertz or Clemente - the collection of the 2nd-floor Galleria d'Arte
Moderna OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Gallery of Modern Art; 8.15am-6.50pm Tue-Sun summer,
shorter hrs winter) is dominated by late-19th-century works by artists of the Florentine Mac-
chiaioli school (the local equivalent of Impressionism).
Few visitors visit the Galleria del Costume OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Costume Gallery;
8.15am-6.05pm summer, shorter hours outside summer, closed 1st & last Mon of month) , thus missing
its fascinating, if somewhat macabre, display of the semi-decomposed burial clothes of
Cosimo I, his wife Eleonora di Toledo and their son Don Garzia.

Giardino di Boboli
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP

GARDENS

(Boboli Gardens; Piazza Pitti; adult/reduced/child €7/3.50/free; 8.15am-7.30pm summer, shorter hrs
winter) The expansive gardens of the Pitti Palace were laid out in the mid-16th century to a
design by architect Niccolò Pericoli, and are a prime example of a formal Tuscan garden.
At the upper, southern limit, beyond the box-hedged rose garden and Museo delle Porcel-
lane, there are fantastic views over the Florentine countryside.
The garden is blessed with plenty of statues and hidden paths. Other features include a
rather neglected Cypress Alley , the walled Giardino del Cavaliere (Knights' Garden), and the
Isoletto , a gorgeous ornamental pool.
By the garden exit, hundreds of seashells decorate the facade of Grotta del Buontalenti
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 4pm & 5pm) , a fanciful grotto by Giambo-
logna. Peer inside to see a fleshy Venere (Venus) rising from the waves. The wall to the