WhatcomestomindwhenyouthinkofItaly,perhapsitswonderful culinaryandwinesceneorpicturesoffamousarchitectsandpainters?In 2019,itwasstatedthatItalyhasover470state-ownedmuseums;Galleria degliUffiziisoneofthem,displayingworksfromRenaissancepainters andsculptorssuchasLeonardoandCaravaggio,aswellasGerman, DutchandFlemishpainters. THEUFFIZIPALACE ZanobidelRosso. I,sonofCosimoI,startedtofurnish TheUffiziGallery(GalleriadegliUffizi)is DelRossobuiltthestaircasewithpastel thecorridorwithancientstatuesand aprominentItalianpieceofarchitec- greencoloursandwasinspiredbythe paintings. turefromthe16thcentury.Builtby brightinteriorsofEuropeancapitals GiorgioVasari,afamousItalianpainter suchasViennaandSt.Petersburg. Theceilingsofthecorridorswerenotex- andarchitectduringtheRenaissance cluded.Paintingoftheceilingbeganin period,thebuildingwaserectedasa Thethreecorridorsofthegalleryare 1581andcontinuedtoforthefollowing projectcommissionedfortheDukeof thestrikingelementsoftheGallery, twocenturies.Thefirstcorridorceiling Florence,CosimoIdeMedici. alsodecoratedwithdifferentarchitec- wasfilledwithpaintingsofmythological TheDukewantedVasaritobuilda turestylesandpaintings.Thecon- creatures,whilethesecondandthird gatheringpalaceforthemagistrates structionforthehallbeganinthe16th corridors’themewasprimarilyTuscan ofthecity,an“uffi zio”oranoffice. centurywhenGrandDukeFrancesco gloryandtheMedicifamily. WhenCosimoIandVasaridiedin1574, thebuildingwascompletedbyDuke FrancescoIwithhisarchitectBernardo Buontalenti. WHEREDIFFERENTSTYLES MEETINONEBUILDING GalleriadegliUffiziisnoordinary architecturalpiecefromthepast.Com- missionedbydifferentarchitects,both VasariandBuontalenti’sstylegavethe buildingitsuniquetouch.Forexample, thestaircasesthatleadtotheGallery: Vasaridesignedthefirstpartofthe stairswithFlorentineRenaissancestyle. Thesecondpartofthestaircasewas createdbytheLorraineGrandDuke PietroLeopoldo,whocommissioned BestofDOM|31