THE GLOBE

Bro. wrote as caption.

In the map room where the de Medicis no doubt thought about their far flung political and economic interests.

A forerunner of GOOGLE EARTH!!!

THE HALL

This vast hall in the Palazzo was designed to accommodate the members of the Consiglio Maggiore, the republic's ruling assembly.

THE LION

The Lion guarding the Palazzo and watching over resting travellers

Piazzale degli UFFIZI

The Piazzale degli UFFIZI with the UFFIZI Gallery buildings on the left and right.
The courtyard between the two wings of the Uffizi as seen from the battlements of the Palazzo Vecchio.



Galleria degli Uffizi, known as the Uffizi is one of the worlds greatest galleries. It houses,the collection of Renaissance and other paintings carrying the signatures of the most respected Italian and European artists for the last eight hundred centuries.

It was built in 1560 for the collections of the Grand Duke Cosimo I. It was donated to the City by the sister of the last Grand Duke, Gian Gastone Medici.

Around 2,000 works are on display and 1,500 are in storage.

It is open everyday except Mondays.

MICHAELANGELO

Michelangelo's full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. He was born at Caprese, a village in Florentine territory, where his father, named Ludovico Buonarroti Simoni was the resident magistrate. The family returned to Florence after his birth. He formally apprenticed to Domenico Ghirlandaio for a term of three years. Michelangelo tried to suppress this fact, probably to make it seem that he had never had an ordinary workshop training; for it was he more than anyone else who introduced the idea of the 'Fine Arts' having no connection with the craft that painting had always previously been.

Among his works are:

1. Bacchus-The statue of Bacchus was commissioned by the banker Jacopo Galli for his garden and he wanted it fashioned after the models of the ancients. The body of this drunken and staggering god gives an impression of both youthfulness and of femininity.

2.Known as "Vesperbild" it shows the seated Madonna holding Christ's body in her arms. Michaelangelo was only 23 years old then but there was no artist in his time who had presented an image of the Madonna with Christ's body.

Sistine Chapel ceiling


David

LEONARDO DA VINCI

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 and died on May 2, 1519.He was multi-talented Italian Renaissance Roman Catholic being an architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor, geometer, musician and painter. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time.

Da Vinci is famous for his Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, the latter is the subject of controversy in the best seller book and box office hit controversial, the DA VINCI CODE. His ideas were ahead of his own time which include among others the invention of a helicopter, a tank, the use of concentrated solar power, the calculator, a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. He greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, astronomy, civil engineering, optics, and the study of water (hydrodynamics).

MACHIAVELLI

Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy. He is known for his phamplet, THE PRINCE to gain influence on the Medici family.

Machiavelli entered the Florentine government as a secretary. He rose quickly in his position and met the important politicians in carrying out his diplomatic missions. Among these were the Pope and the King of France. Borgia, the cruel and cunning pope had so much impact on him that despite the fact he did not like his policies, he supported him in order to unite the Florentines. Unfortunately the MEdici family took over and dismissed him from office. He attempted to gain the favor of the Medici by writing a book of what he thought were the Medici's goals and dedicating it to them. And so The Prince was written for that purpose. Unfortunately, the Medici didn't agree with what the book said. The public was outraged and thought how cruel can a man get to write such book.

A few years later the Medici were kicked out of Florence. The republic was re-established, and Machiavelli ran to retake the office he had left so many years ago. But the reputation that The Prince had established made people think his philosophy was like the Medici, so he was not elected. And here the sharp downhill of his life began. His health began to fail him, and he died months later, in 1527.