Are you traveling to Italy? Here are some interesting museums for you

Italy is home to numerous world-renowned museums that offer a rich array of art, history, and culture. Below are some must-visit museums in Italy in summer:

Galleria degli Uffizi (Florence):

Uffizi Gallery — Narrow courtyard between the two wings of the museum, with view toward the Arno river.

The Uffizi Palace was built over the period of 1560-1581 as the offices for Cosimo I de’Medici. The Medici family was one of Europe’s leading noble families, and the architecture of the building is reflective of their status and grandeur.

Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, planned to compile the main works of art within the Medici collection within the palace. Instead, this idea was completed by Francesco I of Tuscany, Cosimo’s successor. In addition, Francesco commissioned the Tribuna degli Uffizi, the famous octagonal room which united a significant portion of the famed masterpieces within the Medici collection.

Titian, Venus of Urbino, 1538, Italy museums — **Titian**, *Venus of Urbino*, 1538. Oil on canvas, 119 x 165 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

More sections of the palace became dedicated to the display of the increasing art collection (including both paintings and sculptures) as the years went by. It has been said that celebrated artists such as Leonardo and Michelangelo assembled at the Uffizi for inspiration and for relaxation. Since the 16th century, the gallery had been open to the public by request, and it became officially open to the public in the mid-18th century.

Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan):

The Pinacoteca di Brera contains one of the leading collections of Italian paintings and is housed within the Brera Palace. Originally the site of a convent, the building was taken over by the Jesuits, who oversaw drastic renovation on the site. Upon Jesuit dispersion in the late 1700s, the Palace stayed the site for the astronomical Observatory, and also the Jesuitfounded library.

The Brera Academy was first established in 1776 in the Brera Palace, for the instruction of architecture, sculpture, and other mediums of art.

Fracesco Hayez, The Kiss, 1859, Italy museums — **Fracesco Hayez**, *The Kiss*, 1859. Oil on canvas, 112 x 88 cm. Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan.

Today, the Brera Art Gallery (the result of the Brera Academy) hosts works by artists such as Bellini, Mantegna, Raphael, Hayez, Tintoretto, Rubens, and Caravaggio.

Galleria Nazionale, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte (Naples):

An important exhibition space for Neapolitan and other Italian painting and decorative art, as well as for Ancient Roman sculptures, the Neapolitan Museo di Capodimonte is to be found within the Capodimonte Palace.

King Charles VII of Naples (later Charles III of Spain) was the founder of the collection and of the palace (1738), deciding he needed a larger palace to house both his court and the Farnese art collection, inherited from Elisabetta Farnese, his mother.

El Greco, A Boy Blowing on an Ember to Light a Candle, 1570-1572, Italy museums — **El Greco**, *A Boy Blowing on an Ember to Light a Candle*, 1570-1572. Oil on canvas, 60.5 x 50.5 cm. Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples.

After the 1799 declaration of the Parthenopean Republic, King Ferdinand took flight, not forgetting to take his most prized (and most precious) pieces from the collection with him. During the decade of French occupation, the remaining collection was moved to the Neapolitan National Archaeological Museum.

In 1815, upon the return of King Ferdinand, the Capodimonte Palace was redecorated and the original collection was augmented by a new gallery for contemporary art. After the dissolution of the monarchy, the palace became a national museum in 1950.

Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (Rome):

The Vatican Museums, inside the Vatican City, are known to be amongst the best in the world. This is due to the collection (amassed over hundreds of years) consisting of some of the greatest works of art to come out of the Renaissance, and some of the most famous sculpture created by classical artists.

Originally founded in the 1500s, the Museums marked their quincentennial anniversary by making the excavation site of a Vatican Hill cemetery permanently open to the public.

Michelangelo, The Last Judgement, 1534-1541, Italy museums — **Michelangelo**, *The Last Judgement* (full view), 1534-1541. Fresco. Sistine Chapel, Vatican.

Forming the institution that is the Vatican Museum are Pinacoteca Vaticana, Museo Pio-Clementino, Museo Chiaramonti, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, Museo Gregoriano Egiziano, Niccoline Chapel, and, perhaps most well-known of all, Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel itself is located within the Apostolic Palace, official abode of the Pope. Whilst most are familiar with the ceiling painted by Michelangelo (a work which took four years to complete), it is not so commonly known that frescos by Botticelli, Perugino, Pinturicchio, Ghirlandaio, Roselli, and others also decorate the chapel.

Ca’ Rezzonico (Venice):

The public museum of the Ca’ Rezzonico is located in a palazzo, along the Grand Canal in Venice. It was first opened to the public in the late 1930s, and is considered to be one of the most significant Venetian museums.

As a museum dedicated to showcasing the grand collection of 18th-century Venetian art, the setting of the Ca’Rezzonico Palazzo is equal to the task of highlighting the art within the collection to its best advantage.

Canaletto, The Grand Canal, Looking Northeast from the Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto Bridge, c. 1719, Italy museums — **Canaletto**, *The Grand Canal, Looking Northeast from the Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto Bridge*, c. 1719. Oil on canvas, 144 x 207 cm. Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice.

The Throne Room is perceived to be one of the most impressively renovated rooms in the palace. This is partly due to the large frescoed ceiling, painted by Tiepolo, and also to a number of objects that are to be found located within the room. One of these is the opulent gilded chair for which the room is named. The chair, or throne, was designed and made by the sculptor Antonio Corradini in the Rococo style. Also to be found within the palace is a large collection of artworks, created by artists such as Longhi, Tiepolo, and Guardi.

The text above is the excerpt from the book Art in Europe (ISBN: 9781783109005), written by Victoria Charles, published by Parkstone International.