"The Pitti Palace is a long, aristocratic dwelling that seems to have landed - along with the somewhat awkward piazza in front of it - amid a warren of small buildings, boutiques, cafes, and repair shops in Florence, across the Arno River from the busy city center. For 300 years the Pitti served as a palace, with its bright and serene expanses serving as a mirror of history, home first to the Medici, Florence's ruling family and the greatest art patrons of their time, and later to the House of Savoy, the imperial family of Europe. Upon its silk-and damask-lined walls hang some of the finest masterpieces in the world." "The Pitti Palace Collections features nearly 300 full-color illustrations of the greatest works of art housed within and beyond the glamour of the Pitti itself. Reflected in the pages of this book are several different self-defined collections currently housed within the edifice. The Pitti Palace Collections focuses first on the palace itself; then on the paintings in the Palatine Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art; the porcelain and silverworks collections, as encompassed by the Decorative Arts section; and finally, the unparalleled Boboli Gardens, one of the finest examples of classical Italian garden design anywhere in the world." "A text by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren is your guide to this unique experience, revealing not only the magnificent artworks themselves, but also a deeper understanding of the makings of the imperial art collections that lie behind the imposing walls of this incomparable palace."--BOOK JACKET.