The history of fashion from the 18th century to the 2000s illustrated by captivating glimpses in an interplay between art and the historical environment of the Museum

The history of fashion, haute couture, the evolution of taste and costume through the centuries

Between public and private court life: a Palace for three dynasties

Pitti Palace

The Museum of Costume and Fashion (formerly known as the Costume Gallery) is located in the Palazzina della Meridiana next to the southern wing of Pitti Palace. Started under Grand Duke of Tuscany Peter Leopold by architect Gaspero Maria Paoletti in 1776 and completed in 1830 by Pasquale Poccianti under Grand Duke Leopold II, the building takes its name from the astronomical instrument made by Vincenzo Viviani in 1699. The instrument is in the vestibule &ndash; with the gnomon pinhole &ndash; of Grand Prince Ferdinando de&rsquo; Medici&rsquo;s apartment. Anton Domenico Gabbiani depicted the Allegory of Time and the Arts (1693) in the vault of the vestibule. All the successive dynasties, from the Habsburg-Lorraine family to the House of Savoy, including the regency of Maria Luisa of Parma and the brief reign of Elisa Baciocchi, left their mark on furnishings and decorative wall paintings. Founded in 1983, it was the first State museum in Italy dedicated to the history of fashion and its social significance. Displayed in rotation for conservation reasons, its collections include clothes, jewellery and accessories from the 18th century to today, along with a captivating group of stage costumes worn by movie, theatre and opera stars in works helmed by reknowned 20th-century directors. Among ancient garments, the 16th-century funeral clothes of Cosimo I de&rsquo; Medici, Eleanor of Toledo and their son Garzia de&rsquo; Medici have been completely restored and are part of the permanent collection on display.

Museum of Costume and Fashion

The Museum of Costume and Fashion completely reopened with a new arrangement

On display at the Uffizi the faces of artists selected from the Department of Prints and Drawings

The Collection of Master Drawers. The Hotbed of Invention

An encounter with great Western art: an everlasting wonder

The Uffizi

Department of Prints and Drawings

Located on the first floor of the Gallery of the Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi, the Department of Prints and Drawings occupies one of the stately spaces which housed the Theater built in the second half of sixteenth century by Bernardo Buontalenti under the Medici family&rsquo;s rule. Between 1952 and 1960 a series of important maintenance works to systematically restore the interior was entrusted to Florentine architect Edoardo Detti (1913-1984), a leading advocate of the Italian Rationalism movement who worked according to the most avant-garde museographic criteria. More recently a new Study Room with over 30 equipped workstations has been installed, designed to offer the many Italian and foreign students who visit the Galleries an atmosphere which is more conducive to research. The Institute houses one of the most important collections of images in the world. Composed of over 177,000 drawings and prints, the collection was started around the mid-seventeenth century by Cardinal Leopoldo de&rsquo; Medici and continues to grow thanks to direct acquisitions and donations. Its huge paper archive dates from the end of the fourteenth century to present day, with a predominance of works from the Italian Renaissance and Tuscan seventeenth century Tuscany. As well as offering academics and researchers access to a photograph gallery and a specialist library, the Department also curates periodic exhibitions and restores its own assets in a highly specialized laboratory.
Browse here <a href="https://euploos.uffizi.it/">Euploos </a>digital catalogue project.

Drawing

self-portrait

Self-portraits on paper by 19th-century Masters

Divina simulacra

The Newsletter of the Uffizi Galleries

Uffizi diffusi a Pietrasanta con la mostra "Lo sguardo e l'idea"

Families are welcomed to the Uffizi Galleries!  The Uffizi Kids project is aimed at them: discover our activities for kids and teens, and our self-teaching or guided tours. 