FROM GIOTTO TO CARAVAGGIO, A GREAT BOOK OF ART HISTORY
A private Uffizi Gallery tour to understand the masterpieces, compare artists and learn how to truly look.
The Uffizi Gallery is not merely one of the world’s most famous museums: it is a journey through the great transformations of Italian painting. With Giulia Bacci, art historian and licensed tour guide, the visit becomes a personalised story and a genuine live art-history lesson.
YOUR PRIVATE UFFIZI GUIDE
Visit the Uffizi Gallery with Giulia Bacci
The guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery is private, personalised and conducted in English and is tailored to your interests, the time available and the age of the participants. An essential visit normally lasts about two hours; we can focus on the great masterpieces, follow a specific theme, compare different artists and discover the stories behind the paintings through clear, engaging explanations. No previous knowledge of art history is needed, and there is time for your questions. Admission tickets to the Uffizi Gallery are not included in the guide service.
NOT A LIST OF DATES, BUT A NEW WAY OF LOOKING
The Uffizi as a live art-history lesson
Giulia loves shaping the visit as an art lesson in front of the works: not an abstract lecture, but a conversation beginning with what we see and connecting technique, history, patronage, symbols and the lives of the artists.
01
Look before explaining
We begin with colour, gesture, light, space and detail. The work is observed before its story is told.
02
Compare the artists
Giotto and Cimabue, Masolino and Masaccio, Botticelli and Leonardo: comparison makes change visible.
03
Understand the context
The works are connected with the Medici, religion, politics, science, workshops and Florentine society.
04
Ask questions
The tour follows the visitors’ curiosity. Children and teenagers are involved with suitable language and pace.
«My aim is not to make you memorise a list of names, but to help you recognise what makes a work new, powerful and unforgettable.»
FROM COSIMO I’S MAGISTRATES TO A PUBLIC MUSEUM
Why the building is called the Uffizi
The palace was designed by Giorgio Vasari to house the administrative offices of Cosimo I de’ Medici. Its architecture linked Palazzo Vecchio symbolically with the Arno and celebrated the new ducal power.
In the later sixteenth century Francesco I de’ Medici turned part of the upper floor into a display area for the dynastic collections. The Tribune by Bernardo Buontalenti, completed in 1583, became an extraordinary treasure room of art and nature.
In 1769, under Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Habsburg-Lorraine, the Gallery was opened to the public according to a new Enlightenment idea of the museum.
1560
Vasari begins the building designed for the magistrates of the duchy.
1583
Buontalenti completes the Tribune for Francesco I de’ Medici.
1769
Grand Duke Peter Leopold opens the Gallery to the public.
Today
Painting, ancient sculpture, architecture and the history of collecting form a single route.
WHAT TO SEE IN THE UFFIZI
A journey through the revolutions of painting
Rooms and displays may change, but the thread of the tour remains clear: we follow the ways artists reinvented space, the body, light and visual storytelling.
THE FIRST GREAT REVOLUTION
Cimabue, Duccio and Giotto
The three great enthroned Madonnas reveal the transition from Byzantine solemnity to a new human presence. With Giotto, bodies acquire weight, space becomes credible and emotion enters painting with unprecedented power.
THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
Piero della Francesca, Filippo Lippi and Botticelli
Perspective, light and humanist culture transform vision. The Dukes of Urbino by Piero della Francesca connect power and landscape; Filippo Lippi introduces intimate grace; Botticelli’s Primavera and Birth of Venus turn poetry, myth and philosophy into images.
MICHELANGELO AND RAPHAEL
The Doni Tondo and the Doni portraits
In the room devoted to the early sixteenth century, the Doni Tondo, Michelangelo’s only universally accepted panel painting, is displayed with Raphael’s portraits of Agnolo and Maddalena Doni. The ancient head known as the Dying Alexander recalls the importance of classical sculpture for Renaissance masters.
THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY AND THE MEDICI COURT
Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino and Bronzino
After Renaissance balance, painting becomes more restless, elegant and artificial. The portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni celebrates the court, the splendour of textiles and the political image of the duchy.
OBSERVATION, SCIENCE AND MOVEMENT
Leonardo da Vinci
The Annunciation and the unfinished Adoration of the Magi reveal Leonardo’s research: atmosphere surrounding form, the inner movement of figures and drawing as an instrument for investigating nature.
LIGHT, DRAMA AND REALITY
Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi
Caravaggio’s Medusa and Sacrifice of Isaac bring drama into the viewer’s space. In Artemisia Gentileschi’s painting, Judith’s story acquires extraordinary physical, psychological and theatrical power.
INFORMATION UPDATED IN AUGUST 2026
Uffizi opening hours, prices and booking
Opening hours, prices and procedures may change. Always check the official website before buying and use only the sales channels indicated by the Uffizi Galleries.
01
Standard opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am–6:30 pm. The ticket office closes at 5:30 pm. Closed Mondays, 1 January and 25 December.
02
Full-price ticket
In 2026, standard admission costs €25 when purchased on the day and €29 when purchased in advance.
03
Afternoon rate
For admission from 4:00 pm, the price is €16 on the day or €20 when purchased in advance.
04
Official booking
Buy online at tickets.uffizi.it or through the official call centre. Advance booking is sensible in high season.
Groups: parties of at least 11 people, including the guide, pay a single additional charge on top of the admission tickets. Always provide the exact number of participants.
A MUSEUM TO VISIT MORE THAN ONCE
Works and spaces of the Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery houses such a rich collection that every visit can offer a different itinerary: historic interiors, great masterpieces, portraits and comparisons between artists can become the starting point for exploring different periods and themes.
IN THE POLITICAL HEART OF FLORENCE
Where the Uffizi Gallery is located
The entrance is in the Piazzale degli Uffizi, beside Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio and only a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio.
The tour can be combined with Palazzo Vecchio, the Vasari Corridor, Palazzo Pitti or an itinerary devoted to the Medici.
BEFORE YOUR VISIT
Frequently asked questions about a private Uffizi tour
How long does a guided tour of the Uffizi take?
An essential visit normally lasts around two hours. A longer tour is possible for deeper study of artists, themes or sections of the collection.
Is the tour an art-history lesson?
It can be, but in a lively conversational form: we observe the works, compare artists and reconstruct their context without turning the visit into an academic lecture.
Is the tour suitable for children and teenagers?
Yes. Giulia adapts the language, pace, number of works and questions to the participants’ ages.
Is the museum ticket included in the guide service?
No. Museum admission is separate. Giulia can indicate the official channel and the most suitable time slot for the agreed route.
Is advance booking necessary?
It is not always mandatory for individual visitors, but it is strongly recommended during busy periods.
Is every tour the same?
No. The route is shaped by interests, available time, the ages of the participants, crowding and the rooms actually open.
PRIVATE AND PERSONALISED TOUR
Discover the Uffizi with Giulia
Send your preferred date, number of participants, ages of any children, language and time available. Giulia will prepare a route combining the celebrated masterpieces with a genuine live art-history lesson.
Use the form to indicate the date, number of participants, preferred language, ages of any children and the artists or themes you would most like to explore.
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