Florence By Area >> City Centre East
Via del Proconsolo 4.
Tel. 055 238 86 06
Built in 1255 as the city's town hall, the Bargello is the oldest seat of government surviving in Florence. In the 16 th century it was the residence of the chief of police and a prison: executions took place here until 1786. After extensive renovation, it became one of Italy's first national museums in 1865. The Bargello houses a superb collection of Florentine Renaissance sculpture, with rooms dedicated to the work of Michelangelo, Donatello, Verrocchio, Giambologna and Cellini, as well as a collection of Mannerist bronzes and examples from the decorative arts. |
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Via Ghibellina 70.
Tel. 055 24 17 52 Michelangelo (whose surname was Buonarroti) lived briefly in this group of three houses which he bought as an investment in 1508. Subsequent generations of his descendants added what they could to a significant collection of his works.
Among these is his earliest known work, the Madonna della Scala, a marble tavoletta, or rectangle relief, carved in 1490-92. There is also a relief from 1492, showing The Battle of the Centaurs, and the design, never used, for the façade of San Lorenzo, shown in a wooden model.
Via Santa Margherita 1.
Tel. 055 21 94 16
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It is uncertain whether the poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was actually born here. In 1911, the remains of a 13th century tower house were restored to give the building its rambling appearance.
Just north of the house is the parish church of Santa Margherita de' Cerchi, built during the 11th century. The church is often used for Baroque chamber music and organ recitals. |
Via dell'Oriuolo 24.
Tel. 055 261 65 45
The museum traces the development of the city through drawings, plans and paintings. One of the most fascinating exhibits is the Pianta della Catena, a 19th century copy of a woodcut made around 1470. The title refers to the chain-like border that surrounds the whole image, which shows Florence at the height of the Renaissance. Some buildings, for instance the Palazzo Pitti, can be seen.
The Palazzo Pitti features again in the delightful sequence of lunettes made by the Flemish artist Giusto Utens in 1599. They show all the Medici villas and gardens, with fascinating vignettes of rural life.
One room is devoted to a scheme devised by Giuseppe Poggi, the city architect involved in remodelling much of central Florence during its brief stint as the capital of Italy in 1865-71. If the scheme had been implemented, large parts of the centre would have been destroyed. The scheme was halted after an international outcry, but not before buildings had been cleared for the new Piazza della Repubblica and the 14th century walls had been torn down.
Via de' Benci 6.
Tel. 055 24 46 61
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The museum's small collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts was left to the city by Herbert Percy Horne , the English art historian. It is housed in a splendid example of a Renaissance palazzino small town house, built in 1489 for the wealthy Alberti family.
The arrangement of rooms, with a working and storage area at ground level and grander apartments above, is typical of many Renaissance houses. The Alberti family, who grew wealthy from the city's thriving cloth trade, had wool-dyed vats in the basement and drying racks in the courtyard. |
Most of the museum's major artifacts, for instance a number a number of important 17 th and 18 th century drawings, are now housed in the Uffizi. However, the collection still boasts at least one major exhibit: Giotto's 13th century St Stephen polyptych (an altarpiece with more than three panels). These is also a Madonna and Child attributed to Simone Martini (1283-1344) and Madonna by Bernardo Daddi (c.1312-48)
The kitchen, which was built on the top floor to stop fumes passing through the entire house, now contains Horne's collection of Renaissance pots and cooking utensils.
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo |
Piazza del Duomo 9.
Tel. 055 230 28 85
The museum has recently opened after extensive remodelling. Parts of the museum have been replanned, and there are now a series of rooms dedicated to the history of the Duomo. Information about the renovation is available in English and Italian.
Museo di Storia della Scienza |
Piazza de' Giudici 1.
Tel. 055 265 311
This small museum is something of a shire to the Pisa born scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Exhibits include his telescopes and the lens he used to discover the largest moons of Jupiter. The museum also features large-scale reconstructions of his experiments into motion, weight, velocity and acceleration. These are sometimes demonstrated by the attendants. In memory of Galileo, in 1657 Florence founded the world's first-ever scientific institution, the Accademia del Cimento (Academy for Experimentation). Some of the academy's inventions, such as early thermometers, hygrometers and barometers are on show here. Of equal interest are the huge globes made during the 16th and 17th centuries to illustrate the motion of the planets and stars.
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Also look out for Lopo Homem's map of the world, dating to 1554, and the nautical instruments invented by Sir Robert Dudley, the Elizabethan marine engineer. He was employed by the Medici dukes to build the harbour at Livorno from 1607-21.
Via del Proconsolo 12.
Tel. 055 239 64 49
The Palazzo Nonfinito (Unfinished Palace) was begun by Buontalenti in 1593 and was still incomplete when it became Italy's first museum of anthropology and ethnology in 1869. The most striking architectural feature is an imposing inner courtyard usually attributed to Cigoli (1559-1613).
The museum's opening hours are severely restricted. However, it's worth setting aside some time to see the collection of art from Italy's former African colonies, and material carried away by Captain Cook, the 18th century British explorer, on the last of his Pacific voyages.
Piazza della Signoria.
Tel. 055 276 82 24
The Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") still fulfils its original role as Florence's town hall. It was completed in 1322 when a huge bell, used to call citizens to meetings or warn of fire, flood or enemy attacj, was hauled to the top of the imposing belltower. The palazzo has retained its medieval appearance, but much of the interior was remodelled for Duke Cosimo I when he moved into the palace in 1540. Leonardo and Michelangelo were asked to redecorate the interior, but it was Vasari who finally undertook the work. His many frescoes (1563-5) glorify Cosimo and his creation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Key Features:
- Cortile and Putto Fountain
- Victory by Michelangelo
- Sala dei Gigli
Loggiato degli Uffizi 6.
Tel. 055 238 86 51
www.uffizi.firenze.it
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The Uffizi was built in 1560-80 as a suite of offices (uffici) for Duke Cosimo I's new administration. The architect, Vasari, used iron reinforcement to create an almost continuous wall of glass on the upper storey. From 1581 Cosimo's heirs used his well-lit space to display the Medici family art treasures, creating what is now the oldest gallery in the world. There are plans to double the entire exhibition space by 2010. |
Star Paintings:
- The Duke and Duchess of Urbino by Piero della Francesca (1460)
- The Birth of Venus by Botticelli (1485)
- The Holy Family by Michelangelo (1506)
- The Venus of Urbino by Titian (1538)
- The Ognissanti Madonna (1310)
Exploring The Uffizi's Collection
The Uffizi offers an unrivalled opportunity to see some of the greatest works of the Renaissance. The collection was born from the immense wealth of the Medici family, who commissioned work from many great Florentine masters. Francesco I housed the family collection at the Uffizi in 1581. His descendants added to it until 1737, when Anna Maria Lodovica, last of the Medici, bequeathed it to the people of Florence.
Styles and Artists Represented in the Uffizi:
- Gothic Art
- Early Renaissance
- The Tribune
- Non-Florentine Art
- The Arno Corridor
- High Renaissance and Mannerism
- Later Paintings
- Botticelli
- Leonardo Da Vinci |
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