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Look at... |
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FIRENZE Other things to see
In this page: Museums:
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Accademia Gallery
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This is one of the most well-known museums in Florence because it contains famous sculptures by Michelangelo, including the world-famous David.
Here also are many of the paintings gathered by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo to aid young artists in their studies at the Arts Academy, which is still located beside the Gallery.
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Uffizi Gallery
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The Gallery is located in the impressive Uffizi Palace built in the mid-sixteenth century by Giorgio Vasari and finished after his death by the architects Parigi and Buontalenti.
The Uffizi, in a horseshoe shape, extends from the Piazza della Signoria to the Arno river and is connected to the Palazzo Vecchio by a footbridge. The building was designed to contain the "Offices" (Uffici) of justice: hence the name.
Since their origins, however, certain rooms on the third floor were dedicated by the Medici for prestigious art collections of later centuries. In 1737, thanks to the foresightful generosity of Anna Maria Luisa, last survivor of this family renowned for its art collections and patronage, the Uffizi became a public trust.
The Gallery today contains masterpieces of Italian and international artists of the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries, including Cimabue, Giotto, Masaccio, Beato Angelico, Leonardo, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Piero della Francesca, Raphael, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Durer, Goya and many others.
The Vasari Wing, leading from the Ufizzi to the Pitti Palace, holds a famous collection of self-portraits which is the only one of its kind in the world.
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Bardini Museum
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The Museum is located in the palace built by Stefano Bardini at the end of the nineteenth century. It was given to the Commune of Florence by the same owner.
Bardini was a famous antique dealer who besides procuring the finest pieces from foreign museums, gathered for himself objects of art of every period and value.
The rooms are bursting with an odd mixture of sculptures, paintings, armory, musical instruments, ceramics and antique furniture. Among the numerous masterpieces of painting and sculpture are the works of Nicola Pisano, Tino da Camaino, Pollaiolo and Donatello
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Museum of the Works of the Duomo
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Situated in the piazza Duomo, the museum contains artworks gathered from the exteriors of the Baptistry, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the belltower of Giotto, in order to protect them.
The collection is therefore the most tangible testimony of a typically Florentine plastic tradition, formed from various phases of construction of the Duomo and evolving over centuries in its workshops.
The most significant works are the Pietą of Michelangelo, the Magdalene and the Cantorium (choir balcony) of Donatello, Boniface VIII by Arnolfo di Cambio, the Cantorium of Luca della Robbia. |
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National Museum of the Bargello
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The National Museum is housed in one of the oldest public palaces of Florence. Its construction dates to 1255.
Erected as the office for the Captain of the People, it was later seat of the Podestą (Mayor) and then of the Captain of Justice or Bargello, from which its name is derived.
For the entire eighteenth century it was used as a prison and capital punishments took place there. After impressive restorations it became the National Museum in 1865. It houses a superb collection of sculptures from the Florentine Renaissance, with works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Giambologna and Cellini, as well as a collection of Mannerist bronzes. |
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Piazza della Signoria
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 The Piazza of the Signoria, inaugurated between the thirteenth and fourteenth century, has always been the political center of Florence.
The citizens gather here when called to public assemblies. The statues, some of which are not originals, commemorate the city's most important events, many of which are connected to the rise and fall of the Florentine Republic.
Savonarola was burned at the stake here. The piazza, with the fountain of Neptune (sixteenth century) at its center, holds the Old Palace and the Loggia of the Signoria, better known as the loggia of the Lanzi. This was built in the fourteenth century in gothic-Renaissance style, designed for public ceremonies. It houses various sculptures, among which the Perseus in bronze by Cellini and the Rape of the Sabines by Gianbologna. |
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Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge")
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 This is the oldest bridge of Florence, built in 1345 probably by Neri di Fioravante. It is the only one that was not destroyed during the Second World War.
The bridge is formed by three arches resting upon two robust pillars with spurs in the form of ships' prows. Upon it are two rows of typical jewellry shops, some of which extend over the edges of the bridge, sustained by supports called "sporti". On the high part of the bridge on the east side passes the Vasariano corridor, uniting the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace. |
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