Bargello National Museum in Florence

Bargello National Museum in Florence houses extraordinary sculptures and “minor arts”. The history of Bargello Palace is considered the oldest among the public buildings in Florence; the establishment of the National Bargello Museum took place in 1865, on the occasion of the Dantean festivities, and is the result of a long and controversial transformation.

Bargello National Museum in Florence is located in the homonymous Bargello palace, an imposing building built around the mid-13th century, according to Vasari, designed by a certain Lapo, father of Arnolfo di Cambio, to house the Captain of the People; later, the seat of the podestà and the Council of Justice. From the beginning, the history of the museum-to-be is intertwined with the restoration of the neo-medieval Palazzo Pretorio and finds its exemplification on the French and English models of Cluny, Soane’s Museum, and Kensington, stimulated and directed by the multiple foreign presences in Florence. In the history of 19th-century museology and collecting, the Bargello played a primary function, which we can define as European-level.

In 1502, the palace became the seat of the Council of Justice and Police, whose chief was called, precisely, “the Bargello.”
In 1786, Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo abolished the death penalty, and the torture instruments present in the palace were burned. The prisons remained in use until the mid-19th century when they were transferred to the former convent of the Murate; thus began, the complete restoration of the building, carried out by Francesco Mazzei.

Since 1865, many important Renaissance sculptures, including masterpieces by Donatello, Luca della Robbia, Michelangelo, Verrocchio, and Cellini, have been brought to the palace (now the National Museum). The Bargello Museum in Florence also presents collections of small bronzes, wax sculptures, enamels, medals, amber, seals, and tapestries from the Medici collections and donations from private individuals. The museum was severely affected by the flood of Florence in 1966, especially on the ground floor, where the armoury and Renaissance sculptures were located. Subsequently, all the works were restored, thanks to important international collaborations.

The current entrance is in Via Volognana, where a famous bell at the ticket office rings only at the passage of the new century. Immediately upon entering, we find bronzes, medals, and statues. Continuing, we access the courtyard, one of the most famous and beautiful in medieval style; the entrance is developed on three sides with large arches on octagonal pillars.