Tour Guide, Florence, Italy
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The Uffizi Gallery tour in Florence is the most requested regard museums in Italy. Every year millions of tourists face long queues to admire the masterpieces that are exhibited in this Renaissance building.The origins of the Uffizi actually date back to the Medici, when Cosimo I decided to build a building adjacent to the seat of government in Palazzo Vecchio.The original idea was to build a large building to be used as offices for the Florentine magistrates of that time.With the construction of the Uffizi he wanted to bring together the 13 most important courts in a strategic position, so that he could control them.This location is one of the seat of the government of Florence and its river had a small port at that time.Cosimo I De’ Medici decided to entrust the construction to Giorgio Vasari, despite the original plan. The rooms and long corridors of the Uffizi were used to display the many works of art owned by the Medici family.With the arrival of Francesco de Medici the Uffizi were partially used for the first time to host his collection of art. This collection was gradually enriched with the passage of time, thanks to donations of important works of art.The Medici wanted to give an important demonstration of their government, so they decided to give to show their works: the Uffizi became the first museum in Europe.With the passage of time the Uffizi have been enriched with further works from other places that were abandoned and legacies of important families and personalities.The works of that time are still present in the halls of this important museum.The preservation of the immense artistic heritage of the Medici was possible thanks to the edict of the last descendant of the dynasty, Anna Maria Luisa De Medici, who stipulated the legacy of each work to the city of Florence, so that nobody else of the governors of the city could sell them.Thanks to this pact (Family Pact – Patto di Famiglia) Florence remains the city with the highest concentration of works of art in the world. The town had the current development of tourism .We must not forget another important work that de Medici dynasty built during their government: the Vasari Corridor, an aerial corridor that links Palazzo Vecchio, the government headquarters, to Palazzo Pitti, which was the residence of the Medici family.The Vasari Corridor crossing the famous Ponte Vecchio and is now considered the most important museum in the world regarding the self-portrait painting collection dedicated to the portraits of famous painters.
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