The building of Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici so as to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates, hence the name uffizi, "offices".

Over the years, more sections of the palace were recruited to exhibit paintings and sculptures collected or commissioned by the Medici family. According to Vasari (who was not only the architect of the Uffizi but also a painter and probably the first art historian, author of "Lives of the Artists", published in 1550 and 1568), artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo gathered at the Uffizi "for beauty, for work and for recreation."

Nowadays, the Uffizi Gallery houses the most incredible collection of artworks from the Middle Ages to Renaissance and beyond. A collection of masterpieces with no equals throghout the world, by artists like Giotto, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello, Botticelli, ecc.

Enter with a skip-the-line priority entrance ticket (avoiding the many-hour-long lines) and discover the secrets and stories that hide under each painting and the links between all these artworks, through the knowledge and passion of our professional English-speaking guide that will lead you through the main halls of this museum.