Giorgio Vasari began construction of the Uffizi complex in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici. The building originally served as administrative offices to consolidate control over committees and guilds from Florence's Republican past.
The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century before official status changed. In 1769 it was officially opened to the public as a new kind of institution and formally became a museum in 1865 when laws shifted regarding cultural property.
On the 27th of May 1993 the Sicilian Mafia carried out a car bomb explosion in Via dei Georgofili. Five people died while the blast destroyed five pieces of art and damaged another thirty including frescoes in the Niobe room that suffered damage beyond repair.
A renovation project finished in 2006 expanded exhibition space from 6,000 square meters to almost 13,000 square meters. This allowed public viewing of artworks that usually remained in storage and included updates to lighting air conditioning and security systems.
On the 22nd of July 2022 members of Ultima Generazione glued themselves to glass protecting Sandro Botticelli's Primavera. They demanded an end to fossil fuel usage while the painting remained undamaged.