Guided tour: The Medici family in Florence.

During the guided tour of Florence and the Medici, we are interested in the rise of the Medici, from their humble origins as a simple merchant to their coronation as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, as well as the relationship among political power and the art as a means of political propaganda. 

The guided tour is intense as it has to cover 300 years of family life. How can a simple merchant family turn into a European dynasty? How did the young Catherine de Medici manage to become queen and mark the history of France? Thanks to this private visit, you will be able to get to know the most hidden sides of the Medici family, its diplomatic intrigues, as well as its political influence.

PALAZZO MEDICI-RICCARDI
The entry into the political scene of the Medici family.

The private tour begins with the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, the main residence of the first branch of the Medici family; this is where Michelangelo lived for years of his youth, as he was a close friend of Lorenzo Il Magnifico. On the outside wall of the building, with its very rustic stones (boss) give the impression of a rather austere residence, but when we enter the courtyard in Renaissance style, supported by columns and rounded arches, you discover a jewel of classic elegance. The palace became a model for many other palaces built in the city by wealthy merchants and bankers. From the courtyard, going up the stairs, you enter the private family chapel decorated in the 15th century with frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli depicting the “Corteo dei Re Magi”. The place is very intimate and, thanks to the guided tour, together it will be possible to identify the portraits of the members of the Medici family. The portrait of the painter also hides between the procession!

PALAZZO VECCHIO.
The political success of Cosimo I.

We continue our private tour through the city center to reach Piazza della Signoria: in front of us the medieval facade of Palazzo Vecchio, symbol of the rise to political power of the Medici dynasty. From 1537 it became the official residence of Duke Cosimo I, who commissioned the architect Giorgio Vasari to expand and decorate it. The iconographic program is complex and magnificent at the same time. Your English speaking guide will accompany you to understand the symbolic reading of the decoration of the Salon and the rooms. Inside statues of Michelangelo, Donatello and Verrocchio.

PALAZZO PITTI.
Royal residence of the Medici Grand Dukes.

Crossing the Ponte Vecchio, we find ourselves in the Oltrarno district, where we finally see the imposing façade of Palazzo Pitti, the last residence of the Medici family.

Palazzo Pitti was the grand residence for six generations of Grand Dukes, who could reach the other bank of the Arno through a very particular private passage, the Vasari Corridor.

The whole is surrounded by the splendid Boboli Gardens, extending over 45,000 square meters, on the side of the Boboli hill.

The palace now houses several museums, as well as a fine collection of paintings. During our private tour of Palazzo Pitti, we will visit the collections of the Galleria Palatina, which has masterpieces by the most illustrious Italian and foreign artists such as Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Van Dick.

The paintings are arranged in sumptuous rooms, in accordance with the museological criteria

 of an art gallery intended for personal use. From the 16th to the 18th century, the Medici used this unique setting as apartments and audience/hearing halls. As we walk through the official apartments, we get a glimpse of the time of the Medici, who then became Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

GALLERIA PALATINE.

A real blast from the past.

The Palatine Gallery and the Royal and Imperial Apartments occupy the entire noble area ( or floor) of Palazzo Pitti, once the residence of the Medici and Lorraines ( Lorena), then the residence of the Savoys, who welcomed the kings of Italy from 1865 to 1919.

The sumptuous art gallery  was built between the end of the eighteenth century and the first decades of the nineteenth century by the Lorraines ( Lorena) , who deposited around 500 works chosen from among the masterpieces of the main Medici collections in the reception rooms. Together, during the guided tour, we will find the same rooms that members of the family have gone through for several generations. A guided tour that will be like a dive into the past!

It is an extraordinary collection, which includes the largest concentration of works by Raffaello (Raphael) in the world (11 paintings!), as well as paintings by Tiziano (Titian), Tintoretto, Caravaggio, and Rubens. The paintings, in their sumptuous frames, entirely cover the walls of the rooms, enriched by the presence of sculptures, vases, and tables of semi-precious stones according to the model of the 17th-century painting collections. 

The amazing series of frescoes painted by Pietro da Cortona for Ferdinando II de’ Medici between 1640 and 1647 in the so-called “Sale dei Pianeti”, increases the exclusive charm of the visit to the Gallery, where each work of art is enhanced by its agreement with the rest of the furniture. There are also many examples of  ‘commesso fiorentino’, including beautiful tables.

La Velata of Raffaello (1516)

On a dark background, a young woman is represented in a half-silhouette, turned three-quarters to the left. The traditional title derives from the veiled head, which suggests an association with the Virgin. The veiled head was the prerogative of married women with children. The left arm rests on a hypothetical parapet just below the lower edge of the painting, highlighting the puffy sleeve, where the silk creates deep pleats and shiny reflections of extraordinary quality, with precious variations of white on white. Great care is also given to the representation of the ruffled shirt on the chest, avoiding any oversimplification. The face, with very pure features, is framed by the dark mass of the hair and by the shadow of the veil, highlighted, with shaded effects following Leonardo’s model. The right hand is raised to the chest, a dramatic gesture usually indicating religious devotion. The gold embroidery, the necklace with figured enamels, and the diadem with a pendant of precious stones and a pearl are indications of the high social rank of the woman depicted. The jewel is very particular, a pendant with a square ruby ​​and a sapphire ending in a pearl, probably an engagement present.​