Piazza Uffizi

The Piazzale degli Uffizi is the long open courtyard between the two wings of Vasari's Uffizi building — one of the most concentrated pieces of Renaissance urbanism in Europe. The building was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1560 to consolidate the administrative offices of Florence; "Uffizi" simply means "offices." It became one of the world's first public art galleries when the Medici opened part of it to visitors in 1769.

Photographed in October 2016 in black and white during my first trip to Italy. The Uffizi courtyard is where you wait for the gallery, and where you watch the rest of Florence walk by; it is one of the best places in the city to do both.