The Galleria Palatina inside Palazzo Pitti hangs paintings the OLD way — not chronologically with white walls and labels, but salon-style: floor to ceiling, gold frame touching gold frame, organized by size and decorative effect. The result: walking into the Saturn Room feels like entering a jewel box — Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola on one wall, Andrea del Sarto on another, the ceiling by Pietro da Cortona exploding with allegorical figures above. 11 Raphaels. 7 Titians. Caravaggio. Rubens. In frescoed rooms that are themselves masterpieces.
The Raphael rooms: Saturn Room — Madonna della Seggiola (the most reproduced Madonna, circular format, intimate). Jupiter Room — La Velata (portrait of Raphael's lover, silk sleeve rendered so realistically it haunted Ingres 300 years later). Mars Room — Consequences of War by Rubens (Venus trying to restrain Mars, an anti-war painting from 1637). Caravaggio: Sleeping Cupid (a REAL sleeping child used as model — anti-idealized, puffy eyes, damp wings). Titian: Mary Magdalene (ecstatic, eyes upward, golden hair barely covering her).
Practical: €16 all-inclusive (Palatina + apartments + Boboli + 3 more museums). Complete Pitti guide →