On Tuesday 27th August free admission to Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens
On the occasion of the celebrations for the birth of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany under Cosimo I de'Medici's rule
On 27 August 1569 Pope Pius V appointed Cosimo I de' Medici as Grand Duke of Tuscany. It was Cosimo who commissioned the construction of the building destined to house the Magistrates, later known as the Uffizi (literally the "Offices"). It was him who, together with his wife Eleonora di Toledo, moved their abode to Pitti Palace, adapting the imposing building to the needs of his court and his family, and at the same time creating the marvellous Italian-style park of the Boboli Gardens, model for many royal gardens in Europe.
To celebrate such a crucial event for the history of Florence and Tuscany, on Tuesday 27th August, visitors enter all day long for free to the museums of Pitti Palace and to the Boboli Gardens too. The Palace includes the famous collections of the Palatine Gallery, the Imperial and Royal Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Museum of Costume and Fashion, the Treasury of the Grand Dukes (containing works made of gold, silverware, crystal, ivory and semi-precious stones).
On the second floor of Pitti Palace, in the Museum of Costume and Fashion's rooms it is also possible to visit "A short novel of men's fashion" exhibition (organized in collaboration with Pitti Immagine) which investigates men's fashion over the last thirty years. On the first floor you can visit two exhibitions celebrating Cosimo I de’ Medici in the fifth centenary of his birth: “Weaving a Biography. The tapestries in honour of Cosimo I" (with large tapestries describing episodes from his life) and "The first statue for Boboli. The Peasant and his Barrel”.
Free admission also to the Porcelain Museum and the Boboli Gardens, where visitors can admire the exhbition by Tony Cragg and his monumental sculptures in the Boboli Gardens. Finally, in the Lemon House, "Building a masterpiece: Trajan's Column" exhibition, which allows to follow the journey of the huge marble blocks from the quarries of Luni in Tuscany to Rome, sailing along the Tiber River.
