Palazzo Pitti was built in the second half of the 14th century by the Florentine merchant Luca Pitti following the project of Brunelleschi. In 1550, it became property of the Medici family, the Grandukes of Tuscany, who lived there for over two centuries. The family and subsequent owners were immediately attracted by the garden’s potential and followed its construction and development over four centuries – from the 15th to the 19th century. The gardens are filled with innumerable species of plants and trees, thus representing a rare example of botanical variety, as well as with masterpieces of architecture and sculpture, ranging from Manierism to Neoclassicism, such as the “Grotta Grande” by Buontalenti, and the Egyptian obelisk from Luxor in the middle of the “vegetable garden”. The garden is truly a museum en plein air, with an extraordinary dramatic effect.
Once the Medici family eventually disappeared, the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens became home to the Lorena family and Florence was chosen as capital of Italy for the Savoia dynasty. Today, the Palace holds the famous Palatina Gallery, only second to the Uffizi: it is a splendid collection inaugurated by Cosimo II, with paintings from the 15th to the 18th century. In occasion of Operafestival, Boboli shall transform itself into a theater, which shall occupy the area of the Column Field, right in front of Neptune’s Fountain, and will seat over 3000 viewers. (The entrance shall be in the Porta Romana Square).