My Top 8 Highlights of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is one of the most visited and highly rated art galleries in the world. Within its walls, you can find many of the best examples of Italian Renaissance art from Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonarda da Vinci, Titian, Botticelli and more.

In a city renowned for its art galleries, visiting the Uffizi Gallery is one that you must visit. In this guide, I’ll discuss some of my favorite things to see in the gallery before giving some tips for visiting!

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My Summary

A Brief History of the Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery started life in 1560 as a Renaissance office building by Giorgio Vasari at the behest of Cosimo I de’ Medici. After completion in 1580, the top floor became a gallery to house some of the Medici’s art collections.

Over time, more and more sections of the building became converted to rooms dedicated to housing paintings and Roman sculptures. Various members of the Medici family would also have the rooms and corridors decorated with frescoes and artistic flourishes to enhance its value as a growing art gallery.

The Uffizi Gallery would be opened to the public starting in 1769. Prior to this, it was possible to visit but only by request. When the Medici dynasty ended in the early 18th century, the last Medici heiress, Anna Maria Luisa, left the Medici’s art collections to the city of Florence via the Family Pact of 1737.

Florence is known as the Jewel of the Renaissance. If you’re looking for more examples of Florentine art from this era, give my post on the Accademia Gallery a read!

My Highlights of the Uffizi Gallery

Let me be clear, this is not the best of the Uffizi Gallery. These are my favorites. Some of them happen to also be considered great pieces of art, but some are just things I like. Nevertheless, in an art gallery of this caliber, there are few pieces that aren’t must-sees for one reason or another.

Without further ado, here are my highlights of the Uffizi Gallery!

Madonna and Child Room

This room is one of the first you’ll come across in the Uffizi Gallery. It contains three Madonna and Child paintings done within a short period of each other in the late 1200s.

If you’ve been to any art gallery in Italy before the Uffizi Gallery, you’ve already seen many Madonna paintings. So, what makes these unique? Because they were created so close to one another, you can see the evolution of painting styles from Medieval influences to early Renaissance.

It starts with Duccio’s, finished sometime around 1285. In this the most basic of the three, everything is two dimensional with no distinct background. Cimabue’s painting on the opposite wall was created shorty after between 1290 and 1300. This painting shows a more realistic style than Duccio’s, and you can also start to see some 3D perspective in the painting. The angels in this photo are still stacked solidly on top of one another, but now there’s a bit of depth to their arrangement.

Finally, around 1310 Giotto finished his Madonna and Child. This painting is clearly the most evolved of the three with more vivid depth in its subject matter. The throne Mary sits on has proportions designed to show it fading into the background of the canvas while the angels and prophets are gathered behind one another rather than stacked. Even more impressively, Mary is created to show off humanistic curves that make her seem like she could be real.

These three paintings are certainly not the most impressive of the Uffizi Gallery’s collection, but they are interesting in how they allow you to see how quickly art evolved during this period.

Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza (or The Duke and Duchess of Urbino)

Federico de Montefeltro and Battista Sforza shows a husband and wife in profile. They aren’t saints or angels, just regular people.

The portraits themselves are striking, but that’s not what makes this selection important. It’s the fact that the focus of the painting is just these two people without some overarching religious or mythological ideal. It’s not the first time this happened in history. Nonetheless, it is one of the best-known works showing off the humanistic ideals of the Renaissance.

You may see this painting referred to as The Duke and Duchess of Urbino, and in fact, that’s how the Uffizi Gallery’s website lists it. However, that’s a bit of a misnomer since Battista passed away before Federico became a duke.

Interestingly, when researching this article, I learned Battista Sforza died prior to this painting being created. Her untimely death is thought to be represented by her skin being so much paler than Federico’s.

Birth of Venus

This is one of the first paintings I fell in love with and to this day remains one of my favorites. It was hands down the thing I was most excited to see at the Uffizi Gallery. Despite the one influencer who wouldn’t stop standing right in front of the painting, it lived up to my excitement.

Botticelli’s Birth of Venus from around 1485 shows the Roman goddess Venus arriving on shore via a perfectly shaped scallop shell. She is blown ashore by the winds with roses trailing behind her and greeted by a woman offering her a cloak to cover her body.

I’ve always been taken with the Birth of Venus because of the striking appearance of its focal point, Venus. She is beautiful, not in a sensual way but in her innocence. That was what first attracted me to this piece of art.

On further reflection, I have taken the Birth of Venus to represent the arrival of humanism on the world scene. After hundreds of years of the Dark Ages, we are finally appreciating our own humanity and beauty. Botticelli seems to say, “Let us celebrate us and move away from the brooding and idolatry of dour religious dogma!”

More Italy Content: A 2-Day Venice Itinerary to Fall in Love with La Serenissima

Primavera (or Spring)

Botticelli’s Primavera is often described in tandem with the Birth of Venus. In reality, they were not meant as a pair.

Primavera shows Venus with a group of graces and other mythological people dancing gaily in the woods. Similar to Birth of Venus, it’s thought to represent a new beauty in the world taking us away from the Dark Ages.

Personally, despite being created roughly five years earlier than Birth of Venus, I think it shows a kind of melancholic sadness. The figures in the painting are dancing in the warmth of spring, yet at the same time, if you observe their faces, they look sad. Whereas the Birth of Venus shows the arrival of humanism and the Renaissance, Primavera seems to suggest that they know this age of boundless optimism is bound to end one day.

It’s for that reason I don’t like Primavera as much as the Birth of Venus. I prefer the boundless optimism of the latter over the shrouded sadness of Primavera.

Venus de’ Medici

The ancient Venus de’ Medici is the highlight of the Uffizi Gallery’s Tribune Room. This room contains several sculptures and paintings, but your eyes will likely be drawn to Venus’s stark pose.

Venus de’ Medici is believed to be from sometime around the early first century B.C. by a Roman sculptor. She was moved to the Uffizi Gallery from Rome by Pope Innocent XI because he thought it was too indecent to be seen in his city. It was acquired by the Medici family which is what lead to its current name.

I find that a little ironic because to me – and I’m no art scholar – it looks like Venus is trying to cover herself from spying eyes. Regardless of the sculptor’s intent, it is a pleasing statue to admire.

This graphic painting shows the biblical scene of Judith saving her city of Bethulia from the Assyrian general Holofernes. According to the Bible, Judith entered Holofernes’ tent under the pretense of trying to reach an alliance. After feasting, Judith took his blade and severed the general’s head.

Artimesia Gentileschi’s painting shows Judith in the exact moment of lowering the sword into Holofernes’ neck. She pulls no punches here, showing his blood spurting from his throat in all directions. In fact, Artimesia had a hard time getting her agreed-upon pay for this work because it was deemed too graphic to display.

Judith Beheading Holofernes is also thought to be a self-portrait of Artimesia. When she was 17, she was raped by her neighbor. This painting was possibly a way for her to symbolically enact her revenge on the man who violated her.

Laocoön and His Sons

This impressive statue depicts the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons being entangled by serpents. Laocoön and His Sons is impressive because of its sheer scale and the emotional agony conveyed in the faces of the three men. In particular, between his emotive face and twisting body, Laocoön seems to be alive in his anguish.

Despite the quality of this sculpture, it is only a copy of the original. To view the original, you have to go to the Vatican Museums in Rome.

Hercules and the Nessus

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find much information about this sculpture to share here. It shows the mythological scene of Hercules slaying the centaur Nessus.

Like Laocoön and His Sons, I enjoyed this sculpture because of its impressive size and the emotion seen in the centaur’s face.

If you enjoyed this statue, there is an even more striking iteration of the theme by Giambologna in the Loggia dei Lanzi outside the Uffiizi Gallery.

Other Highlights of the Uffizi Gallery

Those were only my highlights. Here are some other pieces you should make a point to see while visiting the Uffizi Gallery.

• Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello
• Madonna and Child with Two Angels by Fra Filippo Lippi
• Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci
• Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci
• Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael
• Medusa by Caravaggio
• Bacchus by Caravaggio
• Doni Tondo by Michelangelo
• Venus of Urbino by Titian
• The Wrestlers

Other Things to do in Florence: The Sights and Sounds of Florence’s Piazza del Duomo

Visiting the Uffizi Gallery

Navigating the Uffizi Gallery

On its surface, the Uffizi Gallery seems straightforward. It’s a U-shaped building with smaller rooms located off each main corridor. However, in a few sections there are rooms with multiple doorways. Add to that the crowded nature of the museum and it can be a little confusing to navigate.

This is my only gripe about the Uffizi Gallery. It was not terribly obvious where I was supposed to be going next or even where I was within the museum at times. I understand some museums have no choice because their collections grow beyond what their halls can accommodate, but it is frustrating regardless.

That said, as long as you follow the crowds, it’s hard to miss any of the must-sees. I have a bit of a thing with museums where I need to see everything even if it’s just a quick glance. If you’re like me, pay attention to which door you walk in and out of so you don’t miss anything.

Here is a map I wish I had known about to help keep you organized!

If you have a few days in Florence and are looking for a day trip, give my posts on a Tuscany wine tour and visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa a read!

Get Advance Reservations

Like most things in Italy, reservations for the Uffizi Gallery are a must if you want a smooth visit to Florence. With the Uffizi Gallery being one of the most visited museums in the world, you can bet on it being busy during your stay. A reservation essentially lets you skip the line.

Reservations cost an additional €4, but this is a relatively low price point considering how convenient it is to be able to walk into the museum at a time of your choosing.

One last note on tickets. Because the Uffizi Gallery is so popular, tickets for popular days and times can sell out early. It’s important to book your ticket for the day and time of your choosing as soon as you know when you’ll be visiting.

Uffizi Gallery Combined Tickets with Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens

If you’re also planning on visiting the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens during your stay in Florence, this combined ticket is a solid option to help save a bit of money. This ticket gives you one entry to each of these locations over a five-day span.

The only catch is you have to visit the Uffizi Gallery first. You also have to reserve a time for the Uffizi Gallery at the time of your purchase. Once your visit to the Uffizi Gallery is complete, you’re free to visit the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens at any time over the next five days.

I absolutely do not recommend doing the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace on the same day! We made this mistake, and it was simply too much. (Actually, we did the Accademia and then the Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace all in one day. Whoops.) These two galleries are too extensive and too crowded to make visiting in one day feasible. You have five days – use them!

Getting to the Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery is right in Florence’s main square. As such, it’s hard to miss and is centrally located to many of Florence’s other top sights.

To get to the Uffizi Gallery, all you have to do is head to Piazza Della Signoria (the square with Palazzo Vecchio). Once there, the Uffizi Gallery is in the section behind the Loggia dei Lanzi (where all the statues are).

From here, there are several areas where you can either purchase tickets, pick up reserved tickets, check bags, and enter the museum. Each entry is numbered with a separate sign saying what it’s for.

If you made a reservation, head to door #3 to pick up your ticket and then door #1 to enter the museum.

Other Things to do Near the Uffizi Gallery

Being centrally located, the Uffizi Gallery is right in the center of so much of what Florence has to offer. All the sights of Piazza Della Signoria are literally right there. Here’s a list of some of the things to do near the Uffizi Gallery.

• Piazza del Duomo
• Accademia Gallery
• Palazzo Vecchio
• Ponte Vecchio
• Galileo Museum
• Bargello National Museum

Check out my entire Florence itinerary for more ideas on what to do during your visit!

Resources to Book Your Trip to Florence

Whether you’re looking for tours, hotels or flights, here are some tools to help get you started planning your trip to Florence!

Look for activities and tours offered through GetYourGuide or Viator!

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Check out my travel essentials pages for more of my recommendations.

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