Editing Uffizi (section)

==History==
[[File:Uffizi Gallery - Michelangelo painting "Tondo Doni".JPG|thumbnail|Visitors observing [[Michelangelo]]’s ''[[Doni Tondo]]''. in 2024, Uffizi was ranked as the 19th [[list of most visited art museums in the world|most visited art museum in the world]], with around three million visitors annually.]]
The building of the Uffizi complex was begun by [[Giorgio Vasari]] in 1560 for [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I de' Medici]] as a means to consolidate his administrative control of the various committees, agencies, and guilds established in Florence's Republican past so as to accommodate them all in one place, hence the name {{lang|it|uffizi}}, "offices". The construction was later continued by [[Alfonso Parigi the Elder|Alfonso Parigi]] and [[Bernardo Buontalenti]]; it was completed in 1581. The top floor was made into a gallery for the family and their guests and included their collection of Roman sculptures.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.uffizi.com/history-uffizi-gallery.asp| title=History of Uffizi Gallery| website=www.uffizi.com}}</ref>

The ''cortile'' (internal courtyard) is so long, narrow, and open to the [[Arno]] at its far end through a [[Doric order|Doric screen]] that articulates the space without blocking it, that architectural historians<ref>[[Sigfried Giedion]], ''Space, Time and Architecture'' (1941) 1962 fig.17.</ref> treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe. Vasari, a painter, and architect as well, emphasized its [[perspective (visual)|perspective]] length by adorning it with the matching facades' continuous roof cornices, and unbroken cornices between storeys, as well as the three continuous steps on which the museum fronts stand. The niches in the [[Alternation of supports|piers that alternate with columns]] of the [[Loggiato degli Uffizi|Loggiato]] are filled with sculptures of famous artists in the 19th century.

[[File:Statues in Niches Outside the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.jpg|thumb|[[Cosimo de' Medici]] by Luigi Magi and ''Andrea Di Cione'' ([[Orcagna]]) by Niccolò Bazzanti]]
[[File:Tribuna uffizi.jpg|thumb|[[Tribuna degli Uffizi]]]]

The Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices and the Archivio di Stato, the state archive. The project was intended to display prime artworks of the Medici collections on the [[piano nobile]]; the plan was carried out by his son, Grand Duke [[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Francesco I]]. He commissioned the architect Buontalenti to design the [[Tribuna of the Uffizi|Tribuna degli Uffizi]] that would display a series of masterpieces in one room, including jewels; it became a highly influential attraction of a [[Grand Tour]]. The octagonal room was completed in 1584.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.virtualuffizi.com/tribune.html|title=Tribuna :: Hall n. 18 ► Virtual Uffizi|website=Virtual Uffizi Gallery}}</ref>

Over the years more sections of the building were recruited to exhibit paintings and sculptures collected or commissioned by the [[House of Medici|Medici]]. For many years, 45 to 50 rooms were used to display paintings from the 13th to 18th century.<ref name="florence-museum.com"/>