Florence - Galleria Palatina / Galleria Pitti

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via the vestibule, the Sala degli Staffieri, the Galleria delle Statue and the Galleria delle Nicchie (part of the Appartamenti ex Reali).

Sala di Venere

In the center of the room stands the "Italian Venus" which Napoleon commissioned from Antonio Canova in 1810. There are four pictures tracing the development of Titian ("Concert", "Portrait of a Lady", and portraits of Pope Julius II and Pietro Aretino). "Venus, Amor and Vulcan" is an early work of Tintoretto. Other major works in the Venus room include "Return of the Hunters" by Sustermans, "Return from the Hayfields" and "Ulysses in the Phaecian Isle" by Rubens, and "Seascape at Sunset" by Salvatore Rosa.

Sala di Apollo

Among the 16th and 17th century works in this room particularly worth mentioning are Titian's "Maria Magdalena", the first of a series of pictures on this theme painted for the Duke of Urbino between 1530 and 1535, and his "Portrait of a Nobleman". Andrea del Sarto's "Descent from the Cross" was painted in 1523/1524 for the high altar of Mugello church. The Medicis acquired it in 1782, replacing it in the church with a replica. "The Dying Cleopatra" (1638/1639) is a late work by Guido Reni.

Sala di Marte

The painted ceiling on the theme of War in the Room of Mars is by Pietro da Cortona, with the Medici coat of arms in the center. Mirroring the ceiling's theme is Rubens' very large "The Consequences of War", showing Venus vainly entreating Mars not to go to war. When he painted it in 1637 Rubens was still absorbing the impact of the Thirty Years War. Other works include Tintoretto's portrait of Alvise Cornaro, Rubens' "Four Philosophers" (with his self-portrait top left), Murillo's "Madonna with the Rosary", Titian's portrait of Cardinal Ippolito de'Medici, and Van Dyck's portrait of Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio.

Sala di Giove

The ceiling of the Jupiter Room is also painted by Pietro da Cortona, and refers to the fact that the room was also a throne room. The major works of art in this room include "The Three Ages of Man", attributed to Giorgione, Guercino's "Madonna with the Little Swallow", Andrea del Sarto's "John the Baptist" and Fra Bartolomeo's "Descent from the Cross". "La Velata" (ca. 1516), the veiled woman, or "La Fornarina", is one of Raphael's finest female portraits.

Sala di Saturno

The works by Raphael in the Saturn Room include portraits of Tommaso Inghirami, and Agnolo Doni, as well as "Vision of Ezekiel" and "Madonna with Baldachin". There are also paintings by his contemporaries Perugino, Fra Bartolomeo, Andrea del Sarto and Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio.

Sale dell'Iliade

Unlike the previous rooms, which have 17th century decor, the Iliad Room decor is from between 1819 and 1825. The ceiling, depicting Olympus, and the scenes from Homer's Iliad in the lunettes, were painted by Luigi Sabatelli. Opposite one another hang two versions by Andrea del Sarto of the Assumption of the Virgin. Velasquez' "Philip IV of Spain", Raphael's "La Gravida" and Sustermans' portrait of Count Waldemar Christian are particularly worth seeing.

Sala della Stufa

The little Room of the Stove was first decorated in 1627 by Florentine artist Matteo Rosselli, with the remaining walls covered by Pietro Cortona in 1637 and 1640/1641, on the theme of the four Ages - golden, silver, copper and iron.

Sala di Ulisse

The ceiling of the Ulysses Room shows the homecoming of Ulysses, an allusion to the return to Florence of Ferdinand III from Lorraine. The most important work in this room is Raphael's "Madonna dell'Impannata" (ca. 1512).

Sala di Prometeo

The Room of Prometheus contains almost all of the Galleria Palatina's "tondi", which like the other works in this room are from the 15th and 16th centuries, and are by such artists as Filippo Lippi, Sandro Botticelli, Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio and Guido Reni.

Corridoio delle Colonne

The works in the Corridor of the Columns are mainly 17th c. Flemish and Dutch landscapes.

Sala della Giustizia

The Justice Room chiefly brings together works from the 16th century Venetian School, with chief among them Titian's portrait of Tommaso Mosti (or his brother Vincenzo Mosti).

Galleria del Poccetti

The frescoes in the small gallery - it was an open loggia until 1813 - were first attributed to the Florentine artist Poccetti but later were found to be by Filippo Tarchiani.

Sala Castagnoli

The room is called after the artist Giuseppe Castagnoli, who was responsible for the painting of the ceiling (from 1815). There are two enormous marble statues from the Villa Medici in Rome on two sides of the room. The table of the muses in the center of the room was made between 1800 and 1855 in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.

Quartiere del Volterrano

The Quartiere del Volterrano, the series of rooms beginning with the Sala delle Allegorie, were the winter quarters of the Grand Duchess in the time of the Medicis. The first room is the only one where the decor dates from the Medicis, the rest were refurnished after 1815. These have been in public ownership since 1911 but not all the rooms are accessible.

Appartamenti ex Reali (former Royal Apartments)

Only partly accessible

The collection of works of art in the Palazzo Pitti's Galleria Palatina is complemented by the Appartamenti ex Reali, the former Royal Apartments lived in by Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Queen Margherita and Victor Emmanuel III. The magnificent rooms (the visitor should note the frescoes and stucco-work here, too) contain costly furniture, paintings, statues, tapestries, etc. Most of the furnishings are 19th century, but some rooms also have furniture that is Florentine Baroque.