Uffizi

The Uffizi is one of the world's greatest art galleries. The two wings of the Uffizi were constructed between 1560 and 1580 as government offices. Since the initial architect Giorgio Vasari employed iron supports in  the construction of the first storey his successor Buontalenti was able to create two continuous windowed galleries on the upper floors. The Uffizi, with its twin walls of glass, ceased to be used as a government office after Francesco I decided that it was the ideal location for displaying the Medici art collections.

The two parallel wings of the Uffizi terminate in a Doric portal which overlooks the River Arno. The narrow cortile thereby created has been described as Europe's first "regularised streetscape".

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