About the Museum
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the Western world. Located in Florence, it houses a peerless collection of Italian Renaissance art, including works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael.
The gallery occupies the top floor of the Uffizi building, originally designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 as offices for Florentine magistrates. The Medici family, Florence's most powerful dynasty, began collecting art here in the 16th century. Today the museum holds an extraordinary collection of ancient sculptures and paintings from the Middle Ages to the Modern period. The Botticelli rooms alone, featuring The Birth of Venus and Primavera, make this museum one of the essential stops for art lovers visiting Italy.
Notable Collections
The Birth of Venus
Sandro Botticelli, c. 1485
One of the most iconic images in Western art, depicting the goddess Venus emerging from the sea as a fully grown woman, blown ashore by the winds.
Primavera
Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480
This allegorical painting celebrates the arrival of spring through mythological figures set in an orange grove. It is one of the most written-about and debated paintings in the world.
Annunciation
Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1472–1475
An early masterpiece by the young Leonardo, depicting the angel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary. The painting demonstrates Leonardo's emerging mastery of perspective and atmospheric effects.
