What to see at the Uffizi

What are the 10 must-see works at the Uffizi?

A possible list, from the most cited works: Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Parmigianino, Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi.

1. Giotto, Ognissanti Madonna
2. Sandro Botticelli, Primavera
3. Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus
4. Leonardo da Vinci, Annunciation
5. Michelangelo, Doni Tondo
6. Raphael, Madonna of the Goldfinch
7. Titian, Venus of Urbino
8. Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long Neck
9. Caravaggio, Medusa
10. Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes

The selection is ours; the works come from Wikipedia lists. None is an official ranking. If you have little time, mark the ones that interest you on the map before entering.

What is the most famous painting at the Uffizi?

Botticelli's Birth of Venus is the most cited work, along with his Primavera.

Several tour listings put Botticelli in the spotlight. The listing for the small-group tour cites the Birth of Venus among the highlights, and the ticket with audio guide also features it at the start. At the Uffizi there is also his Adoration of the Magi from 1475.

For those with a visual disability, the museum has dedicated its first tactile book to Primavera.

Which Leonardo da Vinci paintings are at the Uffizi?

Two famous works: the Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi.

Wikipedia lists them among the key works, and the museum places Leonardo among the great names in its collections. On the same list appears the Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio. Several tour listings include the Annunciation in the itinerary; the ticket with audio guide app mentions it together with Medusa.

What to see by Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian?

Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, Raphael's Madonna of the Goldfinch and Titian's Venus of Urbino.

The Doni Tondo is a Holy Family painted by Michelangelo, and is the work by him that Wikipedia lists at the Uffizi. By Raphael, besides the Madonna of the Goldfinch, Wikipedia lists the Portrait of Leo X; by Titian also Flora. The list also includes Parmigianino's Madonna with the Long Neck.

Michelangelo's David is not here: it is at the Accademia Gallery. How to combine the two museums is explained in the Uffizi and Accademia guide.

Where is Caravaggio's Medusa?

At the Uffizi, with two other works by Caravaggio: Bacchus and the Sacrifice of Isaac.

Medusa is painted on a shield: according to Wikipedia it was actually a wooden parade shield, for occasions such as tournaments. Near Caravaggio you will find his followers, including Artemisia Gentileschi with Judith Slaying Holofernes.

Which room? The Uffizi are renovating their layouts and some rooms are temporarily closed: for this reason we do not indicate room numbers. The reference is the museum's official map.

Two hours with a guide just for your group, with a €29 ticket and radios: you decide the route with the guide.

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In which room are Michelangelo, Leonardo or Caravaggio?

The rooms change: works go on loan, into restoration or into new layouts, and the reference is the official map.

The museum publishes a list of works temporarily absent, on loan for exhibitions or stopped for maintenance and restoration. On the Uffizi page there is also a notice about work for new displays and rooms temporarily closed. The PDF map can be downloaded from the Visit page.

Before entering, check the list and save the map on your phone. If one work interests you more than others, ask the room staff: the regulations indicate them as available for information on the collections.

What is the Tribuna of the Uffizi?

An octagonal room commissioned by Francesco I de' Medici and designed by Buontalenti to bring together masterpieces in a single room.

It was completed in 1584, Wikipedia says, and became a stop on the Grand Tour. The Italian entry describes the shell- and mother-of-pearl-covered dome, the red walls and the marble inlaid floor. In the centre, in a circle, are ancient Medici sculptures, including the Medici Venus.

Ancient statues are not only here. In the Gallery’s corridors, you’ll find the Medici collection of sculptures and busts, mostly Roman copies of lost Greek originals.

Why are the Uffizi so famous?

For the Medici collections, kept in Florence by the last heir’s will, and for a museum open to the public since 1769.

Vasari began the building for Cosimo I de' Medici as the seat of administrative offices; hence the name. In 1737, with the dynasty extinct, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici ceded the collections to the House of Lorraine on the condition they remain in Florence and inalienable. In 1769 the Gallery officially opened to the public and in 1865 it formally became a museum.

For tours that take you in front of these works, more details are in the ticket guide.

Frequently asked questions