The Medici Collections

Over the years the Medici Family, patrons of art and science, formed a superb collection of scientific instruments. Some elegant, refined pieces from this collection are displayed in this room. For nearly two centuries the instruments were kept in the Uffizi Gallery, alongside masterpieces of ancient and modern art. Begun by the founder of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Cosimo I de' Medici, the collection was further enriched by his sons and successors: Francesco I, interested mainly in natural-history collections and alchemy, and Ferdinando I, who bought numerous mathematical, nautical and cosmographical instruments. Cosimo II had the honour of adding Galileo's revolutionary instruments to the collection. Later, superbly original glass thermometers blown in the Palazzo Pitti glassworks were fabricated for the Accademia del Cimento, founded by Grand Duke Ferdinando II and Prince Leopoldo de' Medici. Memorable among the later Medici rulers is Cosimo III, patron of the mathematician Vincenzo Viviani, Galileo's last disciple.