Meet your LivTours private guide outside the main entrance to the 15th-century Palazzo Pitti, and enjoy the skip-the-line entrance to this vast museum complex – the largest in Florence at over 32,000 square meters. Set on the southern bank of the River Arno, this vast and magnificent Renaissance palace is a grandiose architectural statement of epic proportions.
With your private guide, explore the magnificent Palazzo Pitti – the grand ducal residence of three ruling dynasties, and afterward enjoy free time in the beautiful formal grounds of the Boboli Gardens behind the palace.
The banker Luca Pitti built the Palazzo in 1446, a statement to dwarf the residences of his rivals. It later became home to three ruling families over the centuries: the House of Medici, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and even the House of Savoy – the kings of Italy! It is filled with artistic treasures by revered maestros such as Titian, Rubens, and Raphael, and as you explore the lavish gilded 17-century interiors, you’ll learn about the aristocratic lives of the Medici and other noble families who ruled the glittering, by-gone era of the Italian Renaissance. In particular, Anna Maria Luisa de Medici (1667-1743) was the Palazzo’s greatest patron of the arts.
The gardens have been open to the public since 1766, but in 1919 King Victor Emmanuel III donated the palace – and all its contents – to the Italian people. Today, the Palazzo Pitti is one of the most magnificent and extensive collections in the world.
Lastly, enter the truly majestic grounds of the Boboli Gardens. From the terrace your guide will tell you all about this horticultural masterpiece, filled with ancient and Renaissance statuary, formal landscaping, grottos, and follies: then leave you to wander around at your leisure. A perfect finale to a resplendent tour!