Cosimo I de' Medici  

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-{{Template}}+#REDIRECT [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]]
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-The '''Uffizi Gallery''', one of the oldest and most famous [[art museum]]s in the world, is housed in the '''Palazzo degli Uffizi''', a ''[[palazzo]]'' in [[Florence, Italy|Florence]], [[Italy]]. +
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-==History==+
-Building of the palace was begun by [[Giorgio Vasari]] in 1560 for [[Cosimo I de' Medici]] as the offices for the Florentine magistrates — hence the name "''uffizi''" ("offices"). Construction was continued to Vasari's design by [[Alfonso Parigi]] and [[Bernardo Buontalenti]] and ended in 1581. The ''cortile'' is so long and narrow, and open to the [[Arno River]] at its far end through a [[Doric order|Doric screen]] that articulates the space without blocking it, that architectural historians treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe. Vasari, a painter as well as architect, emphasized the [[perspective (visual)|perspective]] length by the matching facades' continuous roof cornices, and unbroken cornices between storeys and the three continuous steps on which the palace-fronts stand.+
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-The Palazzo degli Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices, the Tribunal and the state archive (''Archivio di Stato''). The project that was planned by [[Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany]] to arrange that prime works of art in the Medici collections on the piano nobile was effected by [[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Francis I of Tuscany]], who commissioned from Buontalenti the famous [[Tribuna of the Uffizi|Tribuna degli Uffizi]] that united a selection of the outstanding masterpieces in the collection in an ensemble that was a star attraction of the [[Grand Tour]].+
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-Over the years, further parts of the palace evolved into a display place for many of the paintings and sculpture collected by the [[Medici]] family or commissioned by them. After the house of Medici was extinguished, the art treasures remained in Florence by terms of the famous ''Patto di famiglia'' negotiated by Anna Maria Lodovica, the last Medici heiress; it formed one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public.+
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-Because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence — for example, some famous [[statue]]s, to the [[Bargello]]. A project is currently underway to expand the museum's exhibition space by 2006 from some 6,000 metres² (64,000 ft²) to almost 13,000 metres² (139,000 ft²), allowing public viewing of many [[Work of art|artwork]]s that have usually been in storage.+
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-In 1993, a car bomb exploded in Via dei Georgofili and damaged parts of the palace, killing five people. The most severe damage was to the [[Niobe]] room, the classical sculptures and [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] interior of which have been restored, although its [[fresco]]es were damaged beyond repair. The identity of the bomber or bombers are unknown, although it was almost certainly attributable to the Sicilian Mafia who were engaged in period of terrorism at that time.+
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-Today the Uffizi is one of the most popular [[tourist attraction]]s of Florence. In high season (particularly in July), waiting times can be up to five hours. Visitors who reserve a ticket in advance have a substantially shorter wait.+
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-In the summer 2007, in early August, Florence was caught with a large rainstorm, and the Gallery was partially flooded, with water leaking through the ceiling, and the visitors had to be evacuated.+
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-==Popular culture==+
-*The museum is mentioned in chapter XII of [[Henry James]]'s 1875 novel ''[[Roderick Hudson]]''. It is said that, 'There are very fine antiques in the Uffizi.'+
-*The Uffizi also may be referenced in the chorus of the song "[[You Enjoy Myself]]" by [[Phish]], although the band has famously neither confirmed nor denied the exact lines of the song's chorus.+
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-==Collections==+
-Here is only a small selection from the world-class collection of paintings:+
-* [[Cimabue]] (''Maestà'')+
-* [[Duccio]] (''Maestà'')+
-* [[Giotto di Bondone|Giotto]] (''The Ognissanti Madonna'', ''Badia Polyptych'')+
-* [[Simone Martini]] (''The Annunciation'')+
-* [[Paolo Uccello]] (''[[The Battle of San Romano]]'')+
-* [[Piero della Francesca]] (''Diptych of Duke [[Federico da Montefeltro]] and Duchess Battista [[Sforza]] of [[Urbino]]'') +
-* [[Filippo Lippi|Fra Filippo Lippi]] (''Madonna with Child and Two Angels'')+
-* [[Andrea del Verrocchio]] (''[[The Baptism of Christ (Verrocchio)|The Baptism of Christ]]'')+
-* [[Hugo van der Goes]] (''The [[Portinari Triptych]]'')+
-* [[Sandro Botticelli]] (''[[Primavera (Botticelli)|Primavera]]'', ''[[The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)|The Birth of Venus]]'', ''The Adoration of the Magi'' and others)+
-* [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (''[[Annunciation (Leonardo)|The Annunciation]]'', ''[[Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo)|The Adoration of the Magi]]'')+
-* [[Piero di Cosimo]] (''Perseus liberating Andromeda'')+
-* [[Albrecht Dürer]] (''The Adoration of the Magi'')+
-* [[Michelangelo]] (''The [[Doni Tondo]]'')+
-* [[Raffaello Santi|Raphael]] (''[[Madonna del cardellino|Madonna of the Goldfinch]]'', ''[[Portrait of Pope Leo X (Raphael)|Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi]]'')+
-* [[Titian]] (''Flora'', ''[[Venus of Urbino]]'')+
-* [[Parmigianino]] (''The Madonna of the Long Neck'')+
-* [[Caravaggio]] (''[[Bacchus (Caravaggio)|Bacchus]]'', ''[[Sacrifice of Isaac (Caravaggio)|The Sacrifice of Isaac]]'', ''[[Medusa (Caravaggio)|Medusa]]'')+
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-The collection also contains some ancient sculptures, such as the ''[[Arrotino]]'' and the ''[[Two Wrestlers]]''.+
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-{{GFDL}}+

Current revision

  1. REDIRECT Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
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