As for cultural and artistic treasures, Tuscany has always been one of the richest regions in the world. As a matter of fact, many important artistic and cultural movements were born right here, in several Tuscan cities, as well as some of the most known art masters in the world.
Thanks also to the frequent trades with other international countries, Tuscany collected more and more its great artistic and cultural heritage, which today is expressed in the region's numerous churches, monuments, palaces, art galleries, museums, villages and piazzas.
Nowadays, Tuscany has an incredible artistic heritage made up of many Etruscan and Roman archaeological remains, well-preserved villages and towns, intact architectural masterpieces, sculptures, paintings and much more. Tuscany seems to be an open-air museum: in the entire region there are more than 400 museums, each one in its own singularity, but always linked to its area and history.
The most important museum in Tuscany is with no doubt the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, built by the Medici family in 1581. As a matter of fact, the Uffizi Gallery gathers over 1,600,000 visitors a year and is the 2nd most visited museum in Italy (after the Vatican Museums) and the 23rd most visited museum in the world.
The Academy Gallery is another very important museum in Florence. With its 1,170,933 visitors a year is the 4th most visited museum in Italy and the 37th most visited museum in the world. Still in Florence, we find also the Pitti Palace Museum, the 7th most visited museum in Italy and the 84th most visited museum in the world.
However, the other Tuscan cities are no less beautiful that Florence. At the National Gallery of Siena, it is possible to marvel at a large number of paintings by several Siena’s artists with a particular attention to the historical period between 1100 and 1600.
In Vinci – Leonardo da Vinci’s birthplace – it’s possible to visit his home and see many models built starting from his original drawings.
For the ones interested in history and archaeology, in Grosseto it’s possible to visit the Archeology and Art Museum of Maremma, where visitors can marvel at many remains dating back to prehistoric age and late antiquity, especially to the Etruscan and medieval period.
Isn’t enough? Below you’ll find a list including the most famous and important museums in Tuscany.
UFFIZI GALLERY - FLORENCE
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the greatest museums in Italy and the world. The Uffizi hosts masterpieces by Italian and foreign artists from 13th to 18th century, such as Cimabue, Giotto, Masaccio, Beato Angelico, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Piero della Francesca, Raphael, Caravaggio, along with Rubens, Rembrandt, DŸrer, Goya and many others.
read more on aboutflorence.com
ACADEMY GALLERY - FLORENCE
The ACADEMY GALLERY ("Galleria dell'Accademia") is one of the best known museums in Florence because it houses famous sculptures by Michelangelo, including the "David", "The four prisoners" and the "Pieta of Palestina".
read more on aboutflorence.com
PALAZZO PITTI - FLORENCE
It houses many important Florentine museums, such as the Palatina Gallery (with Raffaello’s, Andrea del Sarto’s, Caravaggio’s, Bronzino’s masterpieces and many more), the Silver Museum, the Modern Art Gallery and the Costumes Gallery. The Pitti Palace is famous also for its beautiful, wide gardens, the Boboli gardens.
read more on aboutflorence.com
MUSEO DEL BARGELLO - FLORENCE
What the Uffizi offers in painting, the Bargello offers in sculpture and its courtyard and interiors contain some of the masterpieces belonging to Tuscan Renaissance.
read more on aboutflorence.com
PINACOTECA NAZIONALE DI SIENA - SIENA
This museum holds the largest collection of Siena’s paintings, including great masterpieces from 12th century to the first half of 17th century and works painted on backgrounds of gold leaf. Discover masterpieces by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Simone Martini, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti and other artists of Siena’s School here.
VINCI
Visiting Leonardo da Vinci’s hometown only occurs once in a lifetime, so, if you are visiting Tuscany, you can’t miss this little, precious town. Here, you’ll see the original drawings made by Leonardo and his famous models.
ARCHAEOLOGY AND ART MUSEUM OF MAREMMA - GROSSETO
Located in Piazza Baccarini in the city of Grosseto, the Archaeology and Art Museum of Maremma hosts many archaeological finds dating back to Palaeolithic, Etruscan Age and Iron Age, and also many famous paintings by Antonio Salvetti, Alessandro Casolani, Bernardino Mei, Bartolomeo Neroni, etc. Today, it’s also possible to visit a library with books of Archaeology, History and Art History.