The Uffizi Gallery; its history, hours, ticket prices and location
The Uffizi Gallery, or the Galleria degli Uffizi in Italian, is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. The gallery is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence.
Building of the palace was begun in 1560 for Cosimo I de’ Medici, the first Duke of Tuscany, as the offices for the Florentine magistrates — hence the name “uffizi” (”offices”) and the state archive (Archivio di Stato). The building was completed in 1581. The cortile (internal courtyard) is so long and narrow, that architectural historians treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe.
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. The last Medici heiress Anna Maria Lodovica, negotiated the famous Patto di famiglia, which ensured the Medici art treasures remained in Florence, forming 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.
The collection spans from the 13th to 18th centuries including; Sandro Botticelli (Primavera and The Birth of Venus), Leonardo da Vinci (The Annunciation, The Adoration of the Magi), Albrecht Dürer (The Adoration of the Magi), Michelangelo (The Doni Tondo), Raphael (Madonna of the Goldfinch, Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi), Titian (Flora, Venus of Urbino), Caravaggio (Bacchus, The Sacrifice of Isaac, Medusa), Rembrandt Van Rijn (The selfpotrait as a young man, selfpotrait as an old man,potrait of an old man)
Today the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions 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.
Uffizi Gallery ~ Information on Opening Hours, Prices, Tickets and Location 2009
General Information
Address: Loggiato degli Uffizi, 6 - Florence (gallery entrance)
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 8.15am-7.00pm
Closing days: every Monday, January 1, May 1, December 25.
Uffzi Ticket: Euro 6,50.
Euro 3,50 for European citizens over 18 and under 25.
The access is free for Italian citizens under 18 or over 65 and for foreign citizens from those countries for which reciprocity holds.
Tickets sale ends 45 minutes before closing.
The ticket office is located on the ground floor; the gallery is mainly located on the second floor.
Reservation Service
The booking service is available in the reception area of the New Uffizi, and via a telephone booking centre.
The information and booking desks for Uffizi ticket are open during the museum opening times (from Tuesday to Sunday, from 8.30 to 19.00);
The telephone booking centre (+39 (0)55 294883) is open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8.30 to 12.30. Fax +39(0)55.264406
Visiting either of the two information desks or phoning the booking centre, you will receive free information on opening times, exhibitions, admission charges. There is a booking and advance sales charge of Euro 3.00. Booking will only be considered confirmed after payment has taken place.
Booking Uffizi tickets means reducing waiting times to the minimum, and avoiding the queues.
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