This might surprise you but even though I am a true fan of Italy my biggest travel disappointment met me in this country. My visit in famous Galleria Uffizi was a true failure. There are many reasons for this and if you have ever thought about visiting Uffizi read it carefully. This might save you from your biggest travel disappointment.
Most visited museum
Galeria Uffizi is one of the most visited museums not only in Italy but also in the world. Every year thousands of people buy a ticket to admire the famous collection. Some of them buy a ticket online in order to avoid a huge queue while the others stay in a line for hours! And this line is nothing pleasant: especially if you need to stand in front of the museum for hours in unbearable heat. Even if you have your ticket bought online you need to wait for the precise time of your visit, marked on your ticket.
The collection
My high school teacher always said that Galleria Uffizi is the most beautiful museum in the world. It contains the most precious works of art and everybody should visit it at least once in a lifetime. Growing up with such opinion created in my mind a picture of royal outlook with exceptional objects inside. The most important element of the exhibition- I was told- is the unique opportunity to see the transformation from strictly sacral art towards secular one. And yes, you should see it in Uffizi…if the most important works of art are there.
The problem is that Uffizi is so famous that some parts of the exhibition are temporary hosted elsewhere. You can be lucky and see the majority of the collection on site or you can be unlucky- as I was- and see only a fraction of the collection, even you paid full price for a ticket. So, the biggest disappointment was due to the absence of the most important pictures and sculptures.
I cannot imagine your frustration if you travel the world to see what you have always dreamed about and you don’t.
Hercules and Cacus by Bacio Bandinelli, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria
The works of art
What you can see inside? (if you are lucky!) The most important paintings would be The Birth of Venus and Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, The Venus of Urbino by Titian, Doni Tondo by Michelangelo Buonarotti, The Madonna of the Long Neck by Parmigianino, The Adolescent Bacchus by Caravaggio, and some others. If you are not an art enthousiast you are probably still familiar with Musical Cherub by Fiorentino as this is one of the most frequent reprinted picture.
Out of date
The other thing that drove me crazy about this gallery was its poor condition. For the number of visitors and the price of the ticket one could expect at least proper labels under the paintings. This is not the case! It happened more than once to see a picture with a wrong label. The most funny one was an old painting of Madonna labeled as Man with a beard. Hilarious!
The tickets
Lastly, I bought a ticket well in advance bearing in mind this was a Week of Culture in Florence. I paid a reasonable price but got totally astonished at arrival, discovering there was a free entrance to the exhibition that very day. I got informed that the money I paid was not paid to the museum at all. An agency that is selling the ticket took it. And this frustrates me. I think that the whole ticket business in this museum is really lousy.
Firenze, Santa Maria del Fiore
Any advice?
Yes, one. If you go there just be prepare for a long queue, crowds in front of each famous picture, loudly speaking guides in Japanese, half of the exhibition out…and the rest should be fine!
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