March 17 Open House at the Pitti Museums & Boboli

All the museums in the Pitti Palace in addition to the Boboli Gardens will be accessible at no cost on Sunday, March 17 to commemorate the period when Florence was the capital of Italy.  The Kingdom of Italy’s rulers, of the House of Savoy, resided in the complex.

From 8:15 am to 6:50 pm, guests can tour, for free:  the Palatine Gallery; the Fashion and Costume Gallery; the Modern Art Museum: the Porcelain Museum; the “Treasures of the Grand Duke Museum” (formerly the Silver Museum) as well as the Boboli Gardens.  The visitor can browse and appreciate Renaissance paintings, antique sculptures, sumptuous period fashion and jewelry, artworks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries as well at the formal Italian garden complete with statues and fountains, that lies behind the complex.

Entrance is also waived for the following temporary exhibitions hosted by the Pitti Palace which can also be visited:  “Kiki Smith;” “Animalia Fashion;” and “The Female Vocabulary, Changing Roles as Seen Through Art, 1861-1926.”

Uffizi director Eike Schmidt decided on the date as a “tribute to an important moment in history.”  (rosanna cirigliano)