I went back to the Uffizi to try to buy a pass. Tuesday is not a recommended day to visit because almost all museums are closed on Monday so a lot of tour groups flood the museums on Tuesdays as well as individual visitors who have had to wait because they couldn’t get in on Monday.

In any event, the pass was quick to buy and because it means I don’t need a timed reservation, I decided to go in despite the wait in a long queue. I read an ebook while waiting for more than 5 but less than 10 minutes at 9:30 am.

You have to show ID and they looked to check the name and birthdate on my passport to see that it matched the card.

I decided to do a superficial walk around to see where everything is located and generally how to get around as I’ve always had a guide before. I went into a lot of rooms where I’ve never been before because the art is not of the highest order. I went through the temporary exhibition, where no photos were allowed. It was of the Uffizi works from the 17th and 18th century, which have not been on display for the past 20 years. The history information was the most interesting as there are no really great works. Elizabeth Vigée-Le Brun’s self portrait is probably the most famous work.

The permanent collection has been re-arranged since I was there in May 2023. Although they have dedicated rooms to some artists, Botticelli, for example, is now in two rooms with the Primavera and Birth of Venus in different rooms and a room for the artist Pollaiuolo in between the two. Hope that means people will come to appreciate Pollaiuolo and not just walk through without looking.

On the other hand, Rembrandt is not in one room or even close by. His self portrait is amongst a long rather dark hallway of self portraits that most people were rushing through.

Annoying for me was the realization that almost all the works I think I would like to return to observe at length had no seating (other than the security guard’s chair). The Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Beheading Holofernes used to be in a room with seating. Now it’s in a room with two Caravaggio paintings and no seating. The third Uffizi Caravaggio has seating—at the opposite end of the room. I sat for a moment and could barely glimpse the painting because of the crowd. I guess I’m going to have to stand and if I want to sketch, I’m going to have to learn to sketch while standing.

It took almost 5 hours to walk through all the display rooms, a few rooms that had nothing hung in them, and one women’s washroom break with the inevitable wait. I paused at a few works I had never seen even in books, like this Mantegna with a curved central panel.

But I did not linger at any work nor take a break at the cafeteria so that I could cover the entire gallery. I did pause to snap a photo on the terrace by the cafe:

It’s not as big as the Louvre, but there’s a lot of top works to see in the Uffizi. I didn’t even try to go into the room with the Medici Venus or the Leonardo da Vinci works because there were queues to get in. I also skipped the room of ancient statues because they are just not that great although much prized by the Medici dukes.

While I was inside, it was raining lightly. Not enough to deter tourists. Unfortunately, for me, the rain made everywhere, even inside, more humid but not a lot cooler.

After a late lunch, I went for gelato at Il Procopio, which so far wins for the best cioccolato, fondente, in this case. The others have not been dark chocolate so maybe this is not a level comparison.