Cosimo was only 18 years old when he rose to power as the Duke of Florence. He was very pragmatic, displaying his extraordinary skills by expanding the Duchy: he managed to almost double its territory! In 1569 the Pope Pio V bestowed upon him the title of “Grand Duke of Tuscany”, thus becoming the first of the seven Medici Grand Dukes.
On this tour we will start with the Palazzo Vecchio, the former seat of government of Florence, which was transformed into a princely residence for Cosimo by Giorgio Vasari.
Giorgio Vasari also built the Uffizi for Cosimo and, later, Cosimo commissioned Vasari to build a corridor to connect the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace.
Cosimo’s last commission to Vasari was the series of frescoes for the cupola of the Duomo, but neither Cosimo nor Vasari lived to see it completed, since they both died in 1574.
On this tour we will visit the Palazzo Vecchio and the sumptuous Medici Chapels, where Cosimo and the other Grand Dukes are buried.
The tour takes 3,5 hours.