Bargello Museum

The building went up in 1255 as the seat of the city magistrates and later became a police headquarters and prison, with executions in the courtyard until 1786. As a museum it holds the sculpture that the Uffizi does not: Donatello's bronze David, the first free-standing nude since antiquity, his marble David and his St George; Verrocchio, Michelangelo's early Bacchus and Brutus, and della Robbia terracottas. On one wall hang the two competition panels of 1401 by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi for the Baptistery doors, the contest usually treated as the opening moment of the Renaissance, displayed side by side for comparison.

Background

The building first housed the Capitano del Popolo, then from 1261 the podestà, and in 1574 the Medici moved in the bargello, the police chief of Florence, which gave the palace its name. The original two storeys rose beside the Volognana Tower in 1256, and a third, built of smaller blocks, followed the fire of 1323. The open courtyard dates from 1280-1285, and Neri di Fioravante added the outer staircase between 1345-1367. After a restoration between 1858 and 1865 it opened as the national museum in 1865. The Magdalen Chapel keeps damaged frescoes by Giotto with a full-length portrait of Dante, and the collection includes Bernini's Bust of Costanza Bonarelli. In 2023 it received 610,203 visitors.

Source: Wikipedia, "Bargello"

Highlights

• Donatello's bronze David - the first free-standing nude since antiquity.
• The 1401 competition panels - Ghiberti and Brunelleschi hung side by side.
• Michelangelo's early works - the Bacchus, Brutus and Pitti tondo.
• The prison courtyard - the magistrates' hall used for executions until 1786.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes on some Mondays and Sundays on a rotating schedule worth checking. It is far quieter than the Uffizi or Accademia.

Before you go

Opening days rotate and catch people out. Labelling is sparse in places. It is sculpture only, so visitors expecting paintings will be disappointed.

Nearby

The Duomo lies north; Santa Croce is east.

Key facts