The Gallery of Modern Art in Firenze, Florence, Italy | Museum

The Gallery of Modern Art is housed on the top floor of the Pitti Palace, with a splendid view of the hill and Boboli Gardens.

Many of the thirty magnificent rooms housing the collection were decorated in the 19th century during the period of the last grand dukes of the Lorraine dynasty, Ferdinando III and Leopoldo II.

Established in 1914 following an agreement between the Italian State and the Muncipality of Florence, the Gallery was inaugurated in 1924.

The Gallery of Modern Art, Firenze, holds over two thousand works providing an almost complete panorama of Tuscan painting from the 18th to 20th century; the collections also include paintings representing other Italian schools as well as works by foreign painters.

The historical core, of The Gallery of Modern Art, Firenze, which originates from the Accademia di Belle Arti and from the Pitti Palace, the residence of the Lorraine and Savoy families, was added to by numerous donations and bequests, including those of Diego Martelli and Cristiano Banti, with numerous works from the Macchiaioli school.

Important donations were also made by the painter, Alberto Magnelli, Leone Ambron and Elisabeth Chaplin.

Inaugurated in 1983, the Costume Gallery houses a large collection of antique period costumes dating from the 18th to 20th century. The collection was formed from several donations, the most important of which was that of Umberto Tirelli, and from acquisitions made directly by the Museum.

Progressing through thirteen rooms, the articles on display describe the evolution of fashion and clothing, with particular attention to women's costumes, from the rigid 18th-century corsets to the short dresses of the Twenties. The display is renewed every two years to ensure the optimum conservation of the various artefacts.