The Uffizi Gallery [antikvár]

THE UFFIZI Elegant manneristic building (see color plate), that encloses between two wings the long and narrow Piazzale degli Ufiizi, it was built for Cosimo I to house his administrative and judicial offices. It was begun by Giorgio Vasari (1559) and finished in 1585 by Bernardo Buon-talenti and Alfonso Parigi. Closed on one side by the Lungarno, the building, with its closely spaced rhythmical and architraved portico, stretches out in ample openings and lengthens the scenery of Signoria Square, joining the Palazzo Vecchio to the Arno. The UfEzi building, last of the post-Michelangelo creations, was inspired by the architecture of the Laurentian Library, although here, the plastic tension of Michelangelo becomes linear and decorative. The sculptures that we see in the niches of the pillars along the portico, representing famous Tuscans, are works of the last century. Among the most notable, that of St. Antonino by Giovanni Dupre (1854),i (1846). : On the side of the building, facing Via della Ninna, and in the rooms on the ground floor of the Uffizi, can be seen important remains of the Romanesque church of San Piero Scheraggio, consecrated in 1608. ^ '; When the building was constructed, the old church was incorporated into it. The church had been the seat of the community councils; here the popular reforms of Giano della Bella were promulgated , (1292); and both Dante and Boccaccio made speeches to the public. fij,. The right wing of the Uffizi is preceded by the old Mint building, of ' • which only the ground floor remains. Between this building and the !r beginning of the right wing of the portico, under the arch of Via m'l Lambertesca, opens the Porta delle Suppliche (Door of the Supplica- ¦ tions), original architecture of Bernardo Buontalenti, surmounted by .î' a bust of Cosimo I attributed to Giovanni Bandini. Continuing along ¦ ' ^ the Via Lambertesca, to the left can be seen the houses of the Pulci, f today seat of the Georgoflli, one of the oldest institutions for the study of the economic and agrarian sciences. Actually in the Uffizi building are located the State Archives and the Uffizi Art Gallery. The State Archives, to which one accedes through one of the last doors of the left loggia, contains the collection of documents relating to the history of Florence and Tuscany, from their beginning up to modern times. Besides the collections and the ' specialized library, there is also an interesting exposition room in ' which documents and curios of the history of Florence and Italy, placed in glass showcases, can be seen. Among the most famous documents ore the Fiorinaio, or register of the Florentine Mint; the charter of union between the Greek and Latin churches (1439); the book of the Chiodo, containing the condemnation of Dante, and considerable nautical maps. In order to avert the danger of fires and to allow the Uffizi Gallery to use these vast rooms for displaying the many works of art not visible to the public because of lack of space, the State Archives will soon be moved elsewhere. Under the portico, near the Palazzo Vecchio, between the 19th century statues of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Cosimo the Elder, is the entrance to the Gallery. THE UFFIZI GALLERY (located on the III floor) The project to arrange the Gallery on the 3rd floor of this large building, conceived by Cosimo I Medici, was realized by his son Francesco I, who, after having Buontalenti build the room of the Tribune for the collection of antique medals and other works of art, had the cielings of the first corridor decorated so that he could place the series of famous portraits and, above all, the valuable sculptures, that give it the name of « Gallery of the Sculptures ». With the addition of the other rooms, the Gallery was enlarged with the works brought from Rome by Ferdinand I, who renounced the office of Cardinal to become Grand Duke of Tuscany in the place of his deceased brother Francesco I. The Medici (see enclosed genealogical tree), now absolute rulers of the city and of Tuscany, having married into the greatest families, continuously enriched the Gallery, as under the reign of Ferdinando II, who married Vittoria della Rovere. Later Cosimo III had the Gallery made larger in order to house the works inherited from his uncle Cardinal Leopold. With the extinction of the Medici, the last of the family, Anna Maria Ludovica, who died in 1737, with the so called « family-pact » held in Vienna in 1737, arranged that all the art treasures gathered by the powerful dynasty forever remain at the disposal of the Florentines and of the visitors of the entire world. Thanks to this testament, it was possible to recuperate so many works of art stolen during the last war, and during the Napoleonic era, even though, unfortunately, many masterpieces remained in France. The Lorraines, successors of the Medici, enriched the Gallery and