Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LESSER-KNOWN GEMS
When the Uffizi,
David
and Ponte Vecchio crowd gets too much, flee to one of Florence's faintly
lesser-known gems: Palazzo Strozzi (blockbuster art exhibitions), Museo del Bargello (early
Michelangelos), Chiesa di Orsanmichele (medieval statuary), Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
(Michelangelo staircase) and Museo Marino Marini (Rucellai Chapel).
»
Botticelli Room
The spectacular Sala del Botticelli, numbered 10 to 14 but in fact one large hall, is one of
the Uffizi's most popular rooms and is always packed. Of the 15 works by the Renais-
sance master known for his ethereal figures,
Birth of Venus
(c 1484),
Primavera
(Spring;
c 1478), the deeply spiritual
Cestello Annunciation
(1489-90), the
Adoration of the Magi
(1475; featuring the artist's self-portrait on the extreme right) and
The Madonna of the
Magnificat
(1483) are the best known. True aficionados rate his twin set of miniatures de-
picting a sword-bearing Judith returning from the camp of Holofernes and the discovery
of the decapitated Holofernes in his tent (1495-1500) as being among his finest works.
»
Leonardo Room
Room 15 displays two early Florentine works by Leonardo da Vinci: the incomplete
Ador-
ation of the Magi
(1481-82), drawn in red-earth pigment (removed for restoration wotrks
at the time of writing), and his
Annunciation
(c 1472).
»
La Tribuna
The Medici clan stashed away their most precious masterpieces in this exquisite octagonal
-shaped treasure trove (Room 18), created by Francesco I between 1581 and 1586.
Designed to amaze and perfectly restored to its original exquisite state, a small collection
of classical statues and paintings adorn its walls, upholstered in crimson silk, and 6000
mother-of-pearl shells painted with crimson varnish encrust the domed ceiling
.
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Flemish & German Masters
Rooms 20 to 23 house works by Northern Renaissance painters including Abrecht Dürer
(Adoration of the Magi;
1504), and Lukas Cranach the Elder
(Adam and Eve;
1528).
»
High Renaissance to Mannerism
Passing through the loggia or
Secondo Corridoio
(Second Corridor) visitors enjoy wonderful
views of Florence before entering the
Terzo Corridoio
(Third Corridor), rooms 25 to 34
were closed at the time of writing as part of the massive ongoing expansion and reorgan-
isation of the Uffizi.
