A PALACE, THREE DYNASTIES AND A GARDEN DESIGNED AS THEATRE
A private Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens tour exploring art, court ceremony, architecture, landscape and power.
Pitti Palace is the great royal residence of the Oltrarno, home to the Medici, Habsburg-Lorraine and Savoy dynasties. Behind it, the Boboli Gardens turn the hillside into an open-air museum of statues, fountains, grottoes and vistas.
YOUR PRIVATE PITTI GUIDE
Visit Pitti Palace and Boboli with Giulia Bacci
I am Giulia Bacci, a licensed tour guide and art historian in Florence. On your private Palazzo Pitti tour, we explore paintings, furnishings and court life through clear explanations and conversation. You can focus on the Palatine Gallery, choose another collection or include Boboli, with a route adapted to your interests and pace.
PAINTINGS, ROOMS AND GARDEN AS ONE STORY
Explore Pitti Palace with an art historian
Pitti shows how a work of art changes when it enters a palace. Paintings are not isolated: they interact with frames, silk, ceilings, furniture, ceremony and dynastic memory.
01
Reading a picture gallery
The Palatine Gallery preserves the logic of a dynastic collection: the relationship between paintings, walls and frames is part of the experience.
02
Art and representation
Raphael, Titian, Rubens and other masters are also read as instruments of prestige, identity and diplomacy.
03
Living in a palace
The Royal Apartments reveal the public and private lives of the Medici, Lorraine and Savoy dynasties through rooms, furnishings and ceremonial routes.
04
Designing landscape
At Boboli, axes, statues, fountains and grottoes transform nature into a vast open-air theatre.
«At Pitti Palace we do not only look at paintings: we observe how a court constructs its image through art, rooms, furnishings and garden.»
FROM LUCA PITTI TO THE PALACE OF THE GRAND DUKES
The history of Pitti Palace
The palace is named after banker Luca Pitti, who commissioned it in the second half of the fifteenth century, perhaps to a design by Brunelleschi. Its severe rusticated façade established a powerful relationship between architecture and hillside.
In 1550, Cosimo I de’ Medici and Eleonora di Toledo purchased the palace and turned it into the new grand-ducal residence. Bartolomeo Ammannati enlarged it and designed the great courtyard opening towards Boboli.
From 1737 Pitti became the palace of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty; from 1865 it housed Victor Emmanuel II during the years when Florence was capital of Italy. The complex passed to the Italian State in 1919.
15th century
Luca Pitti begins the great residence beyond the Arno.
1550
Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo purchase the palace.
1737
The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty succeeds the Medici.
1865–1871
Pitti becomes a royal residence while Florence is capital.
1919
Palace, square and garden pass to the Italian State.
ONE PALACE, MANY COLLECTIONS
The museums of Pitti Palace
The palace ticket opens a complex network of collections. A personalised route is useful, because seeing everything carefully requires considerable time.
01
Palatine Gallery
Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio, Pietro da Cortona and many others in a historic princely picture-gallery display.
02
Royal Apartments
State rooms and private apartments preserving the presence of the Medici, Lorraine and Savoy dynasties.
03
Gallery of Modern Art
Painting and sculpture from Neoclassicism to the 1930s, including an important Macchiaioli collection.
04
Treasury of the Grand Dukes
Decorative arts, vessels, crystal, jewels and precious objects in the Medici summer apartments.
05
Museum of Fashion and Costume
Clothing, accessories and displays tracing the history of fashion and social representation.
06
Russian Icons and Palatine Chapel
A rare collection of icons and the court chapel of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.
THE ITALIAN GARDEN BECOMES A EUROPEAN MODEL
The Boboli Gardens
The Medici transformed the hillside behind Pitti into a garden organised through axes, terraces, amphitheatres and views. Ancient and Renaissance statues, fountains and architecture turn the landscape into an open-air museum.
The Great Grotto by Bernardo Buontalenti, Amphitheatre, Neptune Basin and Giambologna’s Fountain of the Ocean are essential stops. The Lorraine dynasty expanded the garden with the Kaffeehaus, Lemon House and new routes.
Comfortable shoes and a suitable pace are important: Boboli is extensive, with slopes, steps and gravel or earth surfaces. The route is adapted to season and participants.
Amphitheatre
The great cavea uses the natural shape of the hill and connects the palace with the garden.
Buontalenti Grotto
Architecture, painting, sculpture and artificial nature merge in an extraordinary space.
Kaffeehaus
A rare Rococo building in Tuscany, placed in a panoramic position.
Lemon House
Zanobi del Rosso’s building reflects the cultivation and winter protection of court citrus trees.
INFORMATION UPDATED IN AUGUST 2026
Opening hours, prices and tickets
The Palace and Garden have different calendars. Always check the official website for temporary room closures, weather-related changes and seasonal schedules.
01
Pitti Palace
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am–6:30 pm, last admission at 5:30 pm. Closed Mondays, 1 January and 25 December.
02
Boboli Gardens
Open from 8:15 am, with seasonal closing times: 4:30 pm in winter and up to 7:10 pm in June, July and August. Last admission one hour before closing. Closed on the first and last Monday of each month and on 25 December.
03
Palace ticket
€16 when purchased on the day or €19 when purchased in advance.
04
Boboli and combined tickets
Boboli costs €10 on the day or €13 in advance. Pitti + Boboli costs €22 on the day or €25 in advance.
Please note: rooms or collections may be temporarily closed. The guided route is adapted to the spaces actually open.
IN THE HEART OF THE OLTRARNO
Where Pitti Palace and Boboli are located
Pitti Palace overlooks the broad Piazza de’ Pitti, a short walk from Ponte Vecchio and Santo Spirito.
The tour may focus on the Palace, the Garden or both. For a first visit centred on painting, we can choose the Palatine Gallery; for landscape and sculpture, we can give more time to Boboli. A palace visit can also be combined with a walk through the surrounding neighbourhood: see my Oltrarno walking itinerary. If you are deciding which major museum to visit during your stay, read Uffizi or Accademia: which museum should you choose?.
BEFORE YOUR VISIT
Frequently asked questions about Pitti Palace and Boboli
How long does a guided tour take?
Allow at least two hours for Pitti Palace. Palace and Boboli together normally require three hours or more, depending on route and pace.
Can all the Pitti museums be seen in one visit?
Technically yes, but not in depth. It is better to select the sections best suited to the group’s interests.
Do I need to know art history before the visit?
No previous knowledge is needed. We begin with what you can see in a painting or room, then connect those details to the people and stories of the palace. The visit is a conversation, with time for your questions and interests.
Is Boboli suitable for everyone?
The Garden includes slopes and earth or gravel surfaces. The route must be adapted to mobility, season and weather.
Are tickets included in the guide service?
No. Admission and reservations are separate from the guide’s fee.
Should I choose Pitti or Boboli?
Pitti is ideal for painting, interiors and court history; Boboli for landscape, sculpture and garden architecture.
PRIVATE AND PERSONALISED TOUR
Discover Pitti Palace and Boboli with Giulia
Send your preferred date, number of participants, ages of any children, language and time available. Giulia will create a route through masterpieces, court rooms and landscape.
Use the form to indicate the date, number of participants, preferred language, ages of any children and whether you prefer the Palace, Boboli or a complete visit.
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