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.

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