Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
holdingseveraldifferentmuseumsandanchoringtwogardens.Stickprimarilytothegallery,
forget about everything else, and the palace becomes a little less exhausting.
You'll walk through one palatial room after another, walls sagging with masterpieces by
16th- and 17th-century masters, including Rubens, Titian, and Rembrandt. Its Raphael col-
lection is the second-biggest anywhere—the Vatican beats it by one. Each room has some
descriptions in English, though the paintings themselves have limited English labels.
The collection is all on one floor. To see the highlights, walk straight down the spine
through a dozen or so rooms. Before you exit, consider a visit to the Royal Apartments.
These 14 rooms (of which only a few are open at any one time) are where Florence's aris-
tocrats lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. Each room features a different color and time
period. Here, you get a real feel for the splendor of the dukes' world.
The rest of the Pitti Palace is skippable, unless the various sights match your interests:
the
GalleryofModernArt
(secondfloor,featuresRomantic,Neoclassical,andImpression-
ist works by 19th- and 20th-century Tuscan painters),
Argenti/Silverworks Museum
(on
the ground and mezzanine floors; displays Medici treasures from jeweled crucifixes to gil-
dedostricheggs),
CostumeGallery
,
PorcelainMuseum
,and
BoboliandBardinigardens
(behind the palace; enter from Pitti Palace courtyard).
The main reason to visit the Pitti Palace is to see the Palatine Gallery, but you can't buy
a ticket for the gallery alone; to see it you'll need to buy ticket #1, which includes the Palat-
ine Gallery, Royal Apartments, and Gallery of Modern Art. Ticket #2 covers the Boboli and
Bardini gardens, Costume Gallery, Argenti/Silverworks Museum, and Porcelain Museum.
Behind door #3 is a combo-ticket covering the whole shebang.
Cost and Hours:
Ticket #1—€8.50, Tue-Sun 8:15-18:50, closed Mon. Ticket #2—€7,
daily 8:15-18:30, except closed first and last Mon ofeach month, until 19:30 June-Aug, gar-
dens close as early as 16:30 in winter, last entry 30-60 minutes before closing. An €11.50
combo-ticket (valid 3 days) covers the entire palace complex. All tickets are cash only and
increaseinpricewithmandatoryspecialexhibits.Reservationsarepossiblebutunnecessary,
and everything is covered by the Firenze Card. The €6 audioguide (€10/2 people) explains
the sprawling palace. No photos are allowed in the Palatine Gallery. Tel. 055-238-8614,
Getting In:
If there's a long line, you can bypass it by making a €3 “reservation” on
the spot for immediate entry. The ticket office is at the far right of the massive facade; just
marchuptotheheadofthelineandgotothewindowontheright,marked
reservation desk
.
You can also skip lines if you have a Firenze Card. Once you have your ticket, enter through
the main doorway in the center of the facade. Firenze Card-holders should go directly to the
mainentrance (whereyoumaybeusheredtotheheadofthesecuritycheckpoint); thengoto
the bookstore on the left side of the courtyard to have your card swiped and get your tickets.
