Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden Guided Tour
Pitti Palace and the Boboli Garden Guided Tour in English with an licensed tour guide of Florence: discover the palace of Florence with Giulia Bacci.
Palazzo Pitti is an immense Florentine palace, the largest of all. Inside Palazzo Pitti there are numerous and prestigious museums: Palatina Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Museum of Fashion and Costume, Museum of the Treasury of the Grand Dukes. A guided tour of Palazzo Pitti is definitely a must for those wishing to spend a holiday in Florence.
The history of Palazzo Pitti
Built by Luca Pitti in 1473, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, Palazzo Pitti remained unfinished for the death of the owner. In 1549 it was bought by Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de’Medici and elected to place of residence of the family, in the period of the birth of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The Palace was completed and extended by Cosimo’s trusted architect, Bartolomeo Ammannati. At the Palace was added the wonderful Boboli Gardens, an example of Italian garden. Subsequently the Palace passed to the Lorena family, who inherited the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany from the last Medici. With the annexation to the Kingdom, in 1860 the Palace passed to the Crown, so much so that it became for five years, or from 1865 to 1871, the years of Florence Capital, residence of Vittorio Emanuele II King of Italy. In 1919 the Royal family donated the palace, the square and the garden to the State.
To find out more about Palazzo Pitti, I recommend the official website.
Pitti Palace and the Boboli Garden
The Boboli Garden is an Italian-style garden that stretches behind the Palace up to the hill of Piazzale Michelangelo. It had been created by the Medici Family and enriched with an extraordinary collection of ancient and Renaissance works, a real open-air museum. Its wonderful caves (Bernardo Buontalenti’s famous one) and majestic fountains, such as the Ocean Fountain by Giambologna with the statue of Neptune, that completes its ornament.
The Lorena Dinasty continued the restoration and the enrichment of Boboli with the realization of the Kaffeehaus (a beautiful example of Rococò architecture) and the Limonaia made by Zanobi del Rosso
Prices, tickets and opening times
Palazzo Pitti hosts several permanent collections:
- The Palatine Gallery
- The Modern Art Gallery
- The Treasure of the Grand Dukes
- The Museum of Fashion and Costume
- The Imperial and Royal Apartments
The Pitti Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8.15 am to 6.50 pm. The Boboli Garden is also open on Monday, with different closing times depending on the seasons (which can vary from 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm).
The entrance fee to the Palace and its Museums is 10 euros (updated March 2021). The entrance fee to the Garden is 6 euros. For discounts and special prices I recommend to visit the official website.
Contact me for a guided tour of Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi
Through the form below you can contact me to plan a guided tour of Palazzo Pitti or a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery in English, which is part of the same complex.
Spending a holiday in Florence
If you are looking for an apartment for your holiday in Florence, I inform you that immediately outside the city center I manage an apartment that can accommodate families and groups up to 4 people.
