Palazzo Pitti - Florence

Palazzo Pitti, or the Pitti Palace, is located on Piazza de' Pitti in Florence, Italy.  The palace dates back to 1458, when work on the structure began for Luca Pitti, a Florentine banker.  When Pitti died in 1472, the unfinished palace had remained untouched for the past 8 years.  It wasn't until 1549, when the palace was sold to Eleanora di Toledo, that work resumed.  Under the guidance of her husband, Cosimo I de' Medici, the structure was nearly doubled in size, including the addition of the Vasari Corridor, which connected the Palazzo Pitti to the Palazzo Vecchio.  During the reign of Francesco I the Pitti Palace became the official home of the Medicis, with their relocation from the Palazzo Vecchio, and would remain so until the death of the last male Medici in 1737.  Since that time the palace passed through the House of Lorraine, the invading conqueror Napoleon, and the House of Savoy.  During Florence's brief time as capital of the newly formed Italy, from 1865 to 1870, Victor Emmanuel II made his home in the Palazzo Pitti.  His grandson Victor Emmanuel III donated the palace to the country in 1919 and it has remained a museum since then.          

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