Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens

Despite its plain facade made of blocks of unpolished stone, the Pitti Palace is a wealth of art. It is one of those lavish and charming places that really enchant the visitors. Residence of the House of Medici from the mid-1500s to the first half of the 1700s, the Palace became a leading cultural center and set trends in the arts and sciences before the glorious Florentine dynasty died out. Nowadays it hosts many museums: the Palatine Gallery, the Silver, Porcelain and Costume Museums, the Gallery of Modern Art and some marvelous gardens.

Seeing it all on the same day is impossible. However, if you love portraits, gilded frames, Raphael, Titian, sumptuous rooms with stylish furniture and frescoed ceilings, the Palatine Gallery is a must-see. Its walls are filled with floor-to-ceiling paintings stacked three and four high, with no chronological order. If you want to avoid an art overload, pick out the highlights from the minor pieces and understand what you see, you may really need a custom and private tour of the Pitti Palace with a private guide.

Combining an art tour with a relaxing experience is always possible here, since the Palace offers at least another reason for a visit: the Boboli Gardens, providing a shady haven of rest far from the city heat and noise.
The massive courtyard that welcomes the visitors beyond the entrance opens up theatrically onto the wonderful gardens the Pitti Palace is also famous for. They epitomize the Italian gardens of the Renaissance.

Dotted with statues, grottoes and fountains the Florentine park is one of the most sophisticated, fascinating and imitated gardens in the world. Its sculpted foliage and geometric patterns, the grottoes and the lovely fountains, the many Roman and Renaissance marbles and the breathtaking views over Florence will charm you and leave long-lasting memories in your mind.