PALAZZO PITTI
Introduction
The Palazzo Pitti was originally built for the banker Luca Pitti. The huge scale of the building, begun in 1457 and attibuted to
Brunelleschi, illustrated Pitti's determination to outrival the Medici family through its display of wealth abd power. Ironically, the
Medici later purchased the palazzo when building costs bankrupted Pitti's heirs. In 1550 it became the main residence of the Medici,
and subsequently all the rulers of the city lived here. Today the richly decorated rooms exhibit countless treasures from the Medici collections.
Star Features
- The Boboli Gardens
- The Boboli Gardens, a lovely place to escape the rigours of sightseeing, were laid out for the Medici after they bought
the Palazzo Pitti in 1549. An excellent example of stylized Renaissence gardening, they were opened to the public in
1766.
- Appartamenti Monumentali
- The state apartments on the first floor of the south wing of the palazzo were built in the 17th century. They are decorated
with frescoes by various Florentine artists, a series of portraits of the Medici by Flemish painter Justus Sustermans, who
worked at the couth between 1619 and 1681, and a group of 18th-century Gobelins tapestries.
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