Treasures of the Uffizi Florence [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION In this volume are reproduced the best paintings from the Uffizi Gallery, among them the most famous works of the Italian Renaissance, which made Florence and Tuscany famous throughout the world. The history of the Uffizi reflects its close relationship with the city of Florence. The Uffizi was the first European museum assembled to serve purposes that were not only—or at least not essentially—private. When the original nucleus of the collection took form, the great palace that was to house it and eventually give it its name already existed. Cosimo I de' Medici (1519-1574), who became grand duke of Tuscany in 1569, had the palace built by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574). It was originally made to house the administrative offices (uffizi) of the new grand duchy, for Cosimo, whose family dynasty was to rule in Tuscany until 1737, wanted to build his state upon a solid bureaucratic foundation. The new centralized form of the Florentine government was physically demonstrated by the Uffizi's connection on one side, by way of a bridge, to the Palazzo Vecchio, ancient seat of the city government, and on the other side, by way of a long passageway (known as the Vasari Corridor), to the Pitti, the grand ducal palace. An elegant if severely official structure, the Uffizi