the bargello national museum

Besides the Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace, the Bargello Museum or Museo Nazionale del Bargello is one of Florence’s most important museums. It was formerly a barracks and prison in Florence, Italy, until it became an art museum. The Museum holds one of the most important collections of Renaissance Tuscan sculpture, including works by Donatello, Della Robbia, Verrocchio, and Michelangelo, as well as medieval French ivories, Italian majolicas, and arms.

Bargello Museum
Bargello Museum

History of the Bargello Museum

After Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo abolished capital punishment in 1786, the Bargello was used as a prison. Consequently, executions were no longer performed at the Bargello from this point forward. Until 1859, the Bargello served as the headquarters of the Florentine police. As a result of Pietro Leopoldo II’s exile, the makeshift Governor of Tuscany decided that the Bargello should become a museum instead of a jail.

There is an external staircase leading to the second floor of the Bargello, which was designed around an open courtyard. The courtyard is centered by an open well.

The Bargello Museum opened in 1865, displaying the largest Italian collection of Gothic and Renaissance sculptures (14-17th century). Donatello, Luca della Robbia, Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Cellini all contributed masterpieces to this museum.

As well as sculptures, the Bargello contains a large collection of decorative and applied arts, including oriental goods, manuscripts, textiles, majolica, ivories, jewels, weapons, carpets, glassware, etc. As the Italian collection at Bargello was largely academically based in the form of paintings and sculptures, these artifacts greatly enhance it. Louis Carrand, Giulio Franchetti, Stefano Bardini, and Frederick Stibbert donated most of the collection around the 19th century, after the Medici family began it.

bargello museum tOURS 2023

bargello museum tickets and hours

OPENING HOURS

8:15 – 13:50 (Mon – Wed – Thu – Fri – Sat – Sun)

CLOSING DAYS

Tuesdays, second and fourth Sunday of the month.

ADDITIONAL OPENING HOURS

Sunday 14 August: 9:00 – 13:00
Sunday 11 September: 14:00 – 18:00
Sunday 25 September: 9:15 – 13:15

TICKETS

Full price: € 9,00
Reduced price: € 2,00 (visitors between 18 and 25 years old)
Reservation Fee: € 3,00. For phone bookings. please call Firenze Musei: Tel. +39 055 294883

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

How long does the Bargello museum take?

It depends on how much you are interested in studying art. There are three floors in the museum. The average tourist can get a good overview in one to two hours.

What is Bargello in Italy?

Bargello was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum in Florence, also known as Palazzo del Bargello and Museo Nazionale del Bargello.

Where is David by Donatello?

Sculpted around 1440 by Donatello, David, or Mercury, is a bronze sculpture displayed in Florence’s Bargello Museum.

USEFUL INFORMATION


Opening days and times 2023

8:15 – 13:50 (Mon – Wed – Thu – Fri – Sat – Sun)
Tuesdays, the second and fourth Sunday of the month

Ticket Price

Full price: € 9,00
Reduced price: € 2,00 (visitors between 18 and 25 years old)


How to get there

Address – Via del Proconsolo, 4 – 50122 Firenze

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Learn History About The Bargello National Museum