Uffizi Gallery Free Guide

The Uffizi is located on a picturesque vantage point on the south bank of the Arno River. The gallery overlooks the Ponte Vecchio which is arguably the most famous bridge in Florence. But if you book well in advance you may be lucky enough to get a chance to cross the river in a secret way known as the Vasari Corridor that starts from the Uffizi, runs roughly parallel to the Ponte Vecchio and then extends all the way to Pitti Palace.

More about the Uffizi itself: the gallery is not for the fainthearted as it has two flights of stairs which have a total of 126 steps! When you have arrived safe to the main exhibition area, take a moment to catch your breath. Because, when you see the sculpture of Hercules strangling Nessus you will probably lose your breath again! This sculpture is the beginning of a long corridor full of stunning statues and stately busts. Here you will probably be lost for words because the marbles of the Uffizi gallery seem to do all the talking!

Your next stop is a room dedicated to the Maestà - a type of work that features an enthroned Madonna and Child. It's not the start of the gallery - it is the start of the Renaissance itself! You are in fact in the city that calls itself the birthplace of the movement where the Renaissance was nurtured and flourished, fostered and schooled. The movement reaches a pinnacle in the Primavera and the chamber that dazzles with the sublime beauty of Botticelli. It also sets the stage for a theme of feminine beauty that seems all-pervasive. Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, Lippi’s and Raphael’s Madonnas, Titian’s Venus all seem to echo and elevate feminine beauty to glorious heights. In contrast, when we see Nessus being strangled, or Laocoön being ensnared by snakes or Marsyas being flayed by Apollo, the male gender has our heartfelt sympathy!

Inside the app:

- Room-to-room navigation
- Interactive maps with top highlights
- Top Tours
- Astounding images from all viewpoints
- Day planner to set your route
- Built-in audio - download and use anytime

Our tour begins as you climb 126 steps and reach the second floor. It then snakes past the Maestas to reach The Tribune. It may seem that the most beautiful and interesting works of the Gallery are all huddled together in this chamber. The room holds the Medici Venus whose delightful pose and delicate proportions will make you lose your bearings! In the same room, you will also witness the cruelty of Apollo as he orders his servant to sharpen the blade with which he will flay Marsyas. The Uffizi wrestlers are frozen in their skirmish while the Dancing Satyr sings to impress a beautiful nymph! Moving on to the next corridor we enjoy a great view of Palazzo Vecchio as well as a rare fragmented statue of Lupa in Imperial Porphyry, a deep purple-red coloured igneous rock. The third corridor starts with the horrific twin statues of Marsyas being tied to a pine tree and being flayed and ends with the statue of Laocoön as he squirms in pain, bitten by a snake on his thigh. The galleries by the side of Marsyas hold important paintings such as the Doni Tondo and Raphael’s Madonnas, while the gallery by Laocoön holds all the Niobid children running for their lives while being hunted by Apollo and Artemis. This is the only complete set of Niobid children in the world, but if you miss it, there is a replica at the Medici villa in Rome where it once originally stood. We have now completed the tour of the second floor and now we descend to the first floor where we will see the Gallery of self-portraits, Botticelli’s Primavera, Titian’s Venus, and finally Caravaggio’s Medusa in whose stony gaze our fantastic comes to a petrifying finish.

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What better way to enjoy than with your very own personal audio guide? You can download and test it’s functionality well in advance. Just remember to take your headphones along as the buddy needs your earbuds! Savour your visit to this Florentine gem and bring back cherished memories of your visit.