Palazzo Pitti

The Palazzo Pitti stands on the south bank of the Arno in Florence, a vast Renaissance palace begun in 1458 for the banker Luca Pitti. Its severe stone façade, with its repeated arches, was designed in a style that looked back to Roman aqueducts. The building was later enlarged by the Medici family, who turned it into the grand residence of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The palace became a storehouse for generations of Medici treasures—paintings, jewels and luxurious objects accumulated over centuries. The Medici also laid out the Boboli Gardens behind the palace, a formal park that grew into a setting for court plays and entertainments. In the 18th century the palace served briefly as a royal residence under Napoleon and then the House of Savoy before being donated to the nation in 1919. Visitors enter through the main block, which now houses several museums and galleries. Beyond lies the large courtyard designed by Ammanati, where a monumental staircase leads up to the piano nobile. The gardens stretch behind, with terraces, fountains and the Buontalenti Grotto, whose walls are covered in pumice and stucco figures. From the upper terraces there are views across the city towards the Ponte Vecchio.