The Palatine Gallery in Florence (Galleria Palatina) is one of the museums inside the Pitti Palace. Its collection of Italian and European masters of the Renaissance comes mostly from the Medici, and was brought together in its current form by the Lorraine family, who opened the collection to the public in the late 18th century.
The collection includes works by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Pieter Paul Rubens, Pietro Perugino, Filippo Lippi, Anthony Van Dyck, Paolo Veronese and Fra Bartolomeo. A number of rooms are decorated with frescoes by Pietro da Cortona in the high baroque style, each with a dedicated theme.
Unlike most galleries, where paintings are organised by either artist, era or movement, the Palatine Gallery displays its collection according to the 17th century tradition of covering entire walls with paintings without an obvious organisation, giving it very much the feel of a private collection.
A visit of the Palatine Gallery also includes the Royal Apartments (Appartamenti Reali), together occupying the entire first floor of the Pitti Palace. This floor was the residence of the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany, of the Lorraine family, and from 1860 to 1919 of the King of Italy. The 14 rooms of the Royal Apartments are more tailored to serving as living spaces than the grander rooms of the Palatine Gallery, and most of them are complete with furnishings and paintings.
