The Palazzo Pitti in Florence, purchased from the Pitti family by the wife of Duke CosimoI de' Medici in 1549 and renovated and expanded by Bartolommeo Ammanati, served as a residence of royal proportions for roughly 350 years. It was occupied by the dynasties of the Medici, the Habsburgs, and finally the Savoyards, and subjected to constant adaptations and alterations. Intensive use by ruling families resulted in the lavish decoration of all floors. Fresco painters from three centuries contributed to the fixed decor of the public rooms and living quarters. Of its numerous apartments two suites of rooms stand out because of their decoration, function and size. These took their present form under Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici (1610-1670), and for the most part they were spared later encroachments owing to their high-quality frescoes. These are the reception rooms in the left (north) wing used by Ferdinando II. The rooms on the cooler ground floor, directly connected with the Boboli Gardens by way of a loggia and a terrace, served him as a summer apartment (Appartamento d'Estate); his winter quarters (Appartamento d'Inverno), reached by way of a large staircase and capable of being heated, lie directly above these on the piano nobile.

In the winter quarters Pietro da Cortona decorated the Stanza della Stufa, the Rooms of the Planets (Sala di Venere; Sala di Giove; Sala di Marte; Sala di Apollo) between 1637 and 1661. The summer quarters were decorated by Giovanni da San Givanni, Francesco Furini, Ottavio Vannini, Cecco Bravo, Angelo Michele Colonna, and Ciro Ferri.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	View of the Stanza della Stufa 1637-41 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Stanza della Stufa 1637-41 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Stanza della Stufa 1637-41 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Age of Bronze 1641 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Age of Iron 1641 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	The Age of Silver 1637 Fresco Stanza della Stufa, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	The Age of Gold 1637 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Study for the Age of Silver c. 1635 Black chalk and white lead on blue paper, 400 x 251 mm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
	Study for the Age of Silver 1637 Red and black pencil on waxed paper, 350 x 246 mm Museo Horne, Florence
	Study for the Age of Gold - Pen, ink, red chalk on white paper, 420 x 280 mm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
	View of the Sala di Venere 1642 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting 1642 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting 1642 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Lunette painting 1642 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Lunette painting 1642 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Sala di Giove 1643-44 Fresco and stucco work Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Sala di Giove 1643-44 Fresco and stucco work Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting 1643-44 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting 1643-44 Fresco Sala di Giove, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting (detail) 1643-44 Fresco Sala di Giove, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting (detail) 1643-44 Fresco Sala di Giove, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Sala di Marte 1643-44 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting 1643-44 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting (detail) 1643-44 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Sala di Apollo 1642 Fresco and stucco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Sala di Apollo 1642 Fresco and stucco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Wall painting 1642 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Wall painting 1642 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting 1647-59 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling painting 1647-59 Fresco Sala di Apollo, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Ceiling fresco in the Sala di Saturno 1663-65 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	View of the Sala di Saturno 1663-65 Fresco Palazzo Pitti, Florence
	Study for the façade of the Palazzo Pitti 1640s Drawing Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence