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MUSEUMS IN FLORENCE
This is an invitation to take a journey through the museums of Florence. Guided by these pages you will be able to select your own itinerary and go at your own place to discover - or rediscover - the collections and monuments which, together, offer an extraordinary overview of Florentine art and history. From the traces of the Roman
The "UFFIZZI GALLERY"
Address: Loggiato degli Uffizi, 6
Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday from 8.30 am to 7 pm
Phone: 055 238 8683
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
Website:www.uffizi.firenze.it
The UFFIZI GALLERY is one of the greatiest museums in Italy and the world. The Uffizi were intended to house the offices of the famous Medici family (Uffizi = offices). From the beginning, however, the Medici set aside certain rooms to house the finest works from their collections.
Today the Uffizi contains masterpieces by Italian and foreign artists from the 13th to the 18th century, such as Cimabue, Giotto, Masaccio, Beato Angelico, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Piero della Francesca, Raphael, Caravaggio, along with Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Goya and many others.
The building that is now seat of the Gallery was built in the mid-sixteenth century by the architect Giorgio Vasari (151 1-1574) in a period when Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was bureaucratically consolidating this recently acquired position. The building was meant in fact to house the offices of the magistrates (Uffici=offices). From the beginning however, the Medici set aside some of the rooms on the third floor to house the finest works from their collection. Two centuries later, thanks to the generosity of the last heir of the family, Anna Maria Luisa, their collection became permanent public property.
The museum now comprises the rooms on the third floor of the building, that display in chronological order paintings ranging from the 13th to the 18th centuries. The most precious and famous group of paintings of the Uffizi are however represented by the works of the Italian Renaissance artists, although several sections of the museum are devoted to the works of foreign artists (German, Flemish, Dutch and French).
In addition to paintings, the Uffizi exhibits a fine collection of Roman sculptures (portraits, emperors and divinities) that are displayed in the corridors decorated with frescoed and sculptured ceilings of the 16th and 17th centuries.
On the ground floor it is still possible to admire the remains of the ancient Romanesque church of San Piero Scheraggio, which was partially destroyed by Vasari to build the Uffizi. The second floor houses the Prints and Drawings Department, which comprises one of the most important collections in the world that was started by a Medici, the Cardinal Leopoldo, during the 17th century.
If we follow the natural layout of the rooms, we enter the large rooms that display the great altarpieces of Cimabue, Giotto, Duccio di Buoninsegna, the first remarkable examples of western painting, followed by the remarkable works of 14th century Siennese artists, such as Simone Martini and the brothers Piero and Ambrogio Lorenzetti and the pupils of Giotto. The following rooms display some fine examples of the lnternational Gothic style: the Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano and another one by Lorenzo Monaco, before actually reaching the most important rooms of the museum that are dedicated to the early Renaissance. These rooms exhibit works by Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, Domenico Veneziano, Piero della Francesca, Beato Angelico, followed by the elegant Madonnas of Filippo Lippi, by the precious panels of the brothers Piero and Antonio del Pollaiolo to end with the mythological allegories and religious paintings of Sandro Botticelli. Of this artist, the museum preserves perhaps the finest colloction of works, comprising the Birth of Venus, the Primavera, the Magnificat and Pomegranate Madonnas.
It is then the turn of Perugino, Signorelli, Piero di Cosimo and Leonardo da Vinci; the latter is represented both with the painting the Baptism of Christ painted together with Verrocchio, the largeAdoration of the Magi and his early work the Annunciation.
The following rooms (from n. 18 to n. 23) are the oldest of the museum; it is well worth stopping to admire the Tribuna that originally contained the most precious works and objects. Today it displays also a series of portraits of the Medici family by Agnolo Bronzino, in addition to the oldest sculpture piece of the museum, the Medici Venus. The following rooms, originally used as armouries, offer again more paintings by Renaissance artists, both Italian - with works by Bellini, Giorgione, Mantegna and Correggio - and foreign artists with paintings by Dürer, Cranach, Memling.
Continuing along the rooms on the western side of the Gallery, it is possible to admire more 16th century masterpieces, starting trom the "Tondo Doni" by Michelangelo, the Madonna of the goldfinch by Raphael and the Venus of Urbin and Flora by Titian. Even the section dedicated to Mannerism is lavish and comprises works by Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Bronzino down to Parmigianino (Madonna with the lonq neck) and famous Venetian artists such as Sebastiano del Piombo, Veronese, Tintoretto, and Lombard ones like Savoldo and Moroni. Until not so long ago the visit to the gallery ended with some l 7th century works by famous Italian (Caravaggio, Carracci) and Dutch (Rembrandt) artists. The museum has recently restored the last rooms of this section after the explosion of 1993, also in view of the eniargement of the lower floors of the building that were occupied by the State Archive until not so long ago. The project for the "New Uffizi gallery", which is already underway, will significantly alter the original layout of the museum, doubling the exhibition rooms. Thanks to this new arrangement it will be possible to distribute more evenly works that are now concentrated in a few rooms, exhibit paintings that are now stored in the gallery's warehouses or include whole collections that had to be displayed elsewhere, like the Contini Bonacossi collection (see below), due to lack of space. It is too early to foresee the exact layout of the new gallery, althongh it is certain that the collections will be arranged in chronological order and by schools.
The eastern section of the ground floor will be instead used to welcome visitors and to house the bookshop, with the rooms designed to offer a more confortable and tidier approach to the large number of tourist thet visit the Uffizi all the year round.
The visit to the Gallery could ideally end with another section: that is the famous Vasari Corridor, built by Vasari in 1565. The Corridor joins the Uffizi to Palazzo Vecchio, crosses the river Arno above Ponte Vecchio and is connected with Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. Recently restored after the explosion of the bomb, the corridor now displays Down seven hundred works comprising mamly the Important group of Self-portraits (from Andrea del Sarto to Marc Chagall). At present the corridor can be visited only by groups and by reserving the visit ahead.
The "VASARI CORRIDOR"
The VASARI CORRIDOR (Corridoio Vasariano) that connects the Uffizi Gallery with the Pitti Palace hosts a rich collection of self-portraits by past and present artists. Built by Vasari in 1565, it passes above the Ponte Vecchio, the "Old Bridge" (infact the oldest bridge in the city), with its many jewelry shops.
The Corridor was built in 1564 by Giorgio Vasari in only five months at the time of the wedding between Francesco I de' Medici and Giovanna of Austria; it served to link up the Pitti Palace, where the Grand Duke resided, with the Uffizi (or offices) where he worked."
It is a covered walk, almost a kilometre in length, an overhead passageway that starts out from the West Corridor of the Gallery, heads towards the Arno and then, raised up by huge arches, follows the river as far as the Ponte Vecchio, which it crosses by passing on top of the shops. The meat market on the bridge was at this time trasferred elsewhere, so as not to offend the Grand Duke's sensitive nose with unpleasant smells on his walk, and replaced (from 1593) with the goldsmiths who continue to work there today.
On the other side of the Arno, the corridor passes through the interior of the church of Santa Felicita, Down the tops of the houses and the gardens of the Guicciardini family until it finally reaches the Boboli gardens (one of the exits stands beside Buontalenti's Grotto) and the apartments in the Pitti Palace.
Vasari thus created a monumental urban "footpath" that took the absolute power of the ruler right into the historic heart of the city. In fact, a second corridor above Via della Ninna links the other side of the palace of the Uffizi with Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of Florentine government since the 13th century.
The Corridor was restored and reopened to the public in 1973 but can only be visited by appointment or to groups (the entrance is between rooms 25 and 34). Apart from the fact that the visitor can enjoy some magnificent and little-known views over the city from its round windows, the passageway contains over 1000 paintings, all dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the important collection of Self-portraits by some of the most famous masters of painting of the 16th to the 20th century.
This collection, unique in the world, was created by Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici in the mid 17th century, a golden century for collections, and receives regular additions to this day. It displays self-portraits by Andrea del Sarto, Beccafumi, Bernini, Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, Salvator Rosa, Rubens, Canova, Hayez, Corot, Ingres, Delacroix, Ensor and many others.
The "ACCADEMY GALLERY"
Address: Via Ricasoli, 58-60
Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday from 8.15 am to 6.50 pm
Phone: 055 238 8609
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
Website:www.polomuseale.firenze.it/accademia
The ACCADEMY GALLERY ("Galleria dell'Accademia") is one of the best known museums in Florence, because it houses famous sculptures by Michelangelo, including the "David", "The four prisoners" and the "Pieta of Palestina". There are also many paintings collected by the Grand Duke Peter Leopold to help the young Florentine artists, enrolled in the Academy of Arts school which is still next door to the gallery.
The most enlightenend prince of the Lorraine family that ruled over Tuscany for over a century, the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, united in 1784 all the Florentine drawing schools into one "Academy". He also founded a gallery to exhibit paintings with the aim of facilitating the study of the Academy´s pupils.
The seat chosen is the present location of the Museum, a building that originally housed the "Hospital of St. Matthew", enlarged in time through the addition of several adjoining spaces. The consistency and composition of the collection displayed in this museum has changed 0ver time due to the addition of works of art removed from suppressed convents, but also due to loss of works temporarily given or returned to other Florentine museums, in particular to the Uffizi (Bottlicelli´s "Primavera" was displayed here for many years).
Over time the Gallery has become one of the main museums in town, also thanks to the acquisition of some extraordinary masterpieces, such as the "Pièta" by Giovanni da Milano (14th century); the "Annunciation" by Lorenzo Monaco (15th century); the splendid frontal called "Cassone Adimari" showing a sumptuous marriage procession (c. 1450) and the "Madonna of the Sea" attributed to Botticelli (1445-1510). In 1873, when Michelangelo's David was exhibited for the first time on a specially arranged tribune. For protection purposes, the statue was in fact removed from Piazza Signoria where it had represented for over four centuries the strengh and dignity of the Florentine Republic.
In the early years of the 20th century, this statue was joined by other extraordinary works of art by the same artist, such as "St. Matthew" and the four "Prisoners" originally made for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome, but placed in the grotto of the Boboli gardens at the end of the 15th century, and finally by the "Pietá di Palestrina" (whose attribution to the master is still somehow controversial). A capillary organisation and restoration of some of the rooms on the upper floor have allowed the museum to recently integrate the collection with a series of paintings from the 14th to the 16th centuries and to open a room displaying the chalk models of famous 19th century sculptors like Lorenzo Bartolini and Luigi Pampaloni.
In this museum see also:
Musical Instruments
The Superintendent of Culture has received and relocated the splendid collection of Medici and Loraine musical instruments owned by the Cherubini Conservatory, giving them a permanent space in the Academy museum. The exhibit is therefore a way to greet a museum within a museum and to offer to the visitors a journey through the world of sound inside the world of art and culture.
Next to the musical instruments there are numerous paintings, such as the four canvases of Anton Domenico Gabbiani (1657 - 1726) that depict musicians at the court of Ferdinando Medici with their instruments, or the paintings of Bartolomeo Bimbi and Cristoforo Munari. Multimedia work stations allow further fascinating study by means of an easy-to-use CD-rom in Italian and English.
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM "IL BARGELLO"
Address: Via del Proconsolo, 4
Opening times: Everyday from 8.15 to 13.50
Phone: 055 238 8606
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
Ticket: Euro 4,00
Website:www.polomuseale.firenze.it/bargello
The NATIONAL MUSEUM "IL BARGELLO" has its setting in one of the oldest buildings in Florence and one of the most beautiful in Italy, which was begun in 1255. Initially the residence of the "Bargello" or head of police spies, from which it took its name, the building's use as a National Museum began in the mid-nineteenth century. What the Uffizi offers in painting, the B˙˙ge˙˙˙˙offers˙˙n sculptth˙˙end its courtyard and interiors allyain some of the maPaerpieces of the Tuscan Renaissance. It contains masterpieces by Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Cellini, Giambologna and Donatello alognwith priceless ivories, enamels, jewels, tapestries and weapons.
The building's use as National Museum began in the mid-19th century. Today it is the setting for works of sculpture, mainly from the grand ducal colleotions, and for many examples of 'iminor' Gothic decorative arts.
The large 14th century hall on the first floor displays some works by Donatello (1386-1466) including the early marble Davõd, the St. George moved to this location from the niche in Orsammichele, the more mature and ambiguous bronze David, the Atys. and the Marzocco, originally installed on the battlements of Palazzo Vecchio. The works of the master are surrounded by the most delicate works of his pupils Desiderio da Settignano (c. 1430-1464) and Antonio Rossellino (c. 1427-1479). The collection also includes the two panels entered by Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi for the Baptistery door competition of 1401. The Renaissance repertoire comprises the glazed terracottas by Luca della Robbia (c.1400 - 1482) that include a very extraordinary group of Madonna with Child.
The rooms on the ground floor exhibit Tuscan 16th century works, focusing in particular on four masterpieces by Michelangelo (1475-1564): Bacchus, the relief representing a Madonna with Child ,Brutus and David-Apollo. The assortment is then followed by works of Andrea Sansovino (14601529), Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), Baccio Bandinelli (1488- 1560), Bartolomeo Ammannati (1511-1592), Benvenuto Cellini (the model of Perseus and the small bronze sculptures were moved to this location from the Loggia dell'Orcagna), down to Giambologna (1529-1608) with his admirable Mercury. The bronze animals that were originally placed in the grotto of the Medici villa of Castello are now displayed on the staircases.
The museum stores however many other treasures: fine works of art enriched by the Carrand, Ressman and Franchetti collections comprising decorative or "minor" arts are distributed among the several rooms of the Palace, both on the first and second floor. From ivories that include several Roman and Byzantine examples, down to medieval glazes and Limoges porcelain from German and French gold works, Renaissance jewels down to Islamic examples of damascened bronze; from grand ducal collections down to Venetian glass. The museum displays several treasures including very unique panel pieces and wooden sculptures. Of note are also the majolicas, arms and small bronze statues.
Two rooms on the second floor are dedicated to the glazed terracottas created by Andrea and Giovanni Della Robbia, besides displaying the bronze David and the Lady with Posy by Verrocchio in the room named after the artist, which displays also an extraordinary collection of busts of Florentine personalities made by some of the most important 15th century artists. One of the most important sculptures is the portrait of Costanza Buonarelli by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is also worth visiting the very lavish collection of medals belonging to the Medici family.
Address: Piazza San Marco 3
Opening times: Monday - Friday from 8.15 to 13.50; Saturday and Sunday from 8.15 to 18.50
Phone: 055 238 8608
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
Ticket: Euro 4,00
Website:www.polomuseale.firenze.it/sanmarco
It is worth visiting the setting of the MUSEUM OF SAN MARCO for its architecture alone. This consists of the former Dominican convent restored and enlarged to its present size for Cosimo the Elder de' Medici by his favourite architect Michelozzo (1396-1472). This building was the scene of fervent religious activity, highlighted by personalities such as Beato Angelico (1400-1450) and, later, Gerolamo Savonarola.
Fra' Angelico was a Dominical monk who later became Prior of the convent and who decorated in a style perfectly adapted to the architecture of the chapter house, cloister and the brothers' first floor cells. The museum offers the visitor an example of a perfectly preserved fifteenth century convent, its rational and harmonious plan based on Brunelleschi's innovations.
Everything is designed to coordinate and simplify the monastic life within its walls as much in its calm cloister as in the light-filled library, one of the finest interiors of the Renaissance. On the other hand, the the museum also contains the works of Fra' Angelico in the form of frescoed interiors and the panels displayed in the large alms-house. The museum also has a very beautiful Last Supper frescoed by Ghirlandaio at the end of the fifteenth century, and, in its first public library of the Renaissance, a fine series of illuminated manuscripts.
The Museum offers visitors an example of a perfectly preserved 15th century convent, based on the rational and harmonious plan inspired by Bruschelleschi's innovations. On the other hand, the complex also contains the works of Fra' Angelico, a Dominican monk who closely collaborated with Michelozzo and his pupils to the fresco of the large alms-house, the refectory, the cloister and the monks' cells on the first floor. One of the most famous frescoes is the (Crucifixion painted in the Chapter House, permeated by the contemplative melancholy found in the refined spirituality of the Dominicans. Among the frescoes of the cells, which are austere yet full of meditative inspiration for the brethren, we find the Annunciation, the Three Maries at the Tomb , and the Noli me tangere.
The panel paintings in the Refectory comprise the earlier works of Angelico,in addition to a superb reredos showing the Last Judgement and the Deposition set against the background of the Tuscan hills. In addition to the works of the Dominican Fray, the museum displays a beautiful Last Supper frescoed by Ghirlandaio at the end of the 15th century and a fine series of paintings by Fra' Bartolomeo, who spent some time in the convent at the beginning of the 15th century and to whom an entire room is dedicated. The Large Refectory is instead dedicated to the painters of his school. The Library (one of the most harmonicus examples of Renaissance architecture) displays a fine collection of illuminated manuscripts produced in the convent that reflect the same spirit of meditative creativity. In addition to the cell that once belonged to Savonarola, it is also possible to visit the cells where Cosimo the Elder retired to meditate.
The Visitor's Area and the underground room display a tidy and well preserved collection of precious objects and relics that were saved from the 19th century destruction of the convent, in addition to a rare collection of bells.
THE MUSEUM OF THE "CATHEDRAL"
Address: P.za Duomo
Phone: 055 230 2885
The MUSEUM OF THE CATHEDRAL ("Museo dell'Opera del Duomo") houses artworks from the Gothic Cathedral, the Baptisty and the Tower of Giotto (campanile). The most important works in the museum are by Michelangelo ("Pietà"), Donatello ("Mary Magdalen"), Arnolfo di Cambio ("Boniface VIII") and Luca della Robbia ("Cantoria").
THE MUSEUM OF THE "HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE"
Address: P.za Giudici, 1
Phone: 055 265 311
Ticket: Euro 6,50
Website:http://galileo.imss.firenze.it
The MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE houses an important collection of scientific instruments in a carefully arranged layout, the proof that Florence's interest in science from the thirteenth century onwards was as great as its interest in art. It was the interest of the Medici and Lorraine families in the natural sciences, physics and mathematics which prompted them to collect precious and visually beautiful scientific instruments along with paintings and other objects of art and natural curiosities; this provided the nucleus for this museum. It is well-known that Cosimo I and Francesco de' Medici encouraged the scientific and artistic researches carried out in the Grand Ducal workshops, but also members of the Medici family in the seventeenth century protected and personally followed physics experiments in the full light of Galileo's method. Very important the original scientific instruments used by Galileo Galilei.
GALLERY OF THE "HOSPITAL OF THE INNOCENTS"
Address: Piazza SS. Annunziata, 12
Phone: 055 249 1708
Opening times: Everyday (except Wednesday, closed) from 8.15 to 14
Ticket: Euro 2,50
The GALLERY OF THE "HOSPITAL OF THE INNOCENTS" is set in one of the best known and most important architectural complexes of the early fifteenth century in Florence. This was commissioned and financed by the Arte della Lana to the designs of Filippo Brunelleschi. The "hospital" aimed to raise abandoned children and teach them some useful trade enabling them to take their place in society. In the buildings of the refectory, cloisters, dormitories, infirmary, nurses' rooms and porticoes, Brunelleschi created a perfect example of rational and harmonious hospital architecture subsequently enlarged and decorated with frescoes documenting the continuing activities of the institution and the favours of the reigning Medici family. After the 1966 flood, the entire complex of buildings was completely restored in an attempt to return to its original fifteenth century appearance. The Gallery is placed in the loggia above the cloister and in the former dayroom of the children above the main portico. The Gallery contains also fine works of a collections made up over the centuries by gifts, bequestes and loans, apart from works, specifically executed for the Innocenti itself.
List of other museums open to the public in Florence:
PALATINE GALLERY
Address: Pitti Palace - Piazza Pitti, 1
Opening times: weekdays 8,30 - 18,50; holydays and Sundays 8,30 - 18,50 Saturdays 8,30 - 22,00
Phone: 055 238 8614
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
Ticket: Euro 6,0
The Pitti Palace and Monumental Apartments
Address: Pitti Palace - Piazza Pitti, 1
Opening times: weekdays 8,30 - 18,50; holydays and Sundays 8,30 - 18,50 Saturdays 8,30 - 22,00
Phone: 055 238 8614
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
"Cappelle Medicee"
Address: Via Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6
Opening times: Monday to Friday, from 8.15 to 17; weekdays, from 8.15 to 13.50
Phone: 055 238 8602
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
Ticket: Euro 4,00
Website: www.firenzemusei.it/medicee
Dante's House
Address: via Santa Margherita, 1
Opening times: Every day (except Wed.), from 3.30 to 12.30 and from 15.30 to 18.30
Phone: 055 219416
Ticket: Euro 2,50
Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia
Address: via XXVII Aprile, 1
Opening times: Every day (except Monday), from 8.15 to 13.50
Phone: 055 388 607
Reservations phone: 055 294 883
Ticket: Free
Website: www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/apollonia
"Specula" Museum
Address: Via Romana, 17
Phone: 055 222 451
Website: www.specola.unifi.it
National Archeological Museum
Address: Via della Colonna, 38
Opening times: Monday from 14 to 19; Tuesday and Thursday from 8.30 to 19; Wed. Friday and weekends from 8.30 to 20
Phone: 055 235 75
Ticket: Euro 4,13
Website: www.comune.firenze.it/soggetti/sat/musei/index.htm
Orsammichele Museum
Address: Via Arte della Lana
Phone: 055 284 944
Della Ragione Modern Art Collection
Address: Complesso delle Oblate, via Sant'Egidio
Opening times: Wed. to Mon. from 9 to 14; closed Tuesday
Phone: 055 283 078
Ticket: Euro 2,00
List of other museums open to the public in Florence surroundings:
Primo Conti Museum
Address: Le Coste - Via Dupre 18 - Fiesole
Phone: 055 597 095
Roman Amphitheatre and Archeological Museum
Address: Via Portigiani, 1 - Fiesole
Phone: 055 594 77
"Doccia Porcelain" Museum
Address: Via Pratese, 31 - Sesto Fiorentino
Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 9 a. m. -1 p. m. / 3 p. m. -7 p. m.
Phone: 055 421 0451
Reservations phone: 055 420 7767
Website: www.museodidoccia.it/ing/mdinfo.html
"Leonardo da Vinci" Museum
Address: Museo Leonardiano di Vinci, Castello dei Conti Guidi - Vinci
Opening times: Every day everyday from 9:30 to 18
Phone: 0571 560 55
Website: www.leonet.it/comuni/vinci
"Luigi Pecci" Museum of Contemporany Art
Address: V.le della Repubblica, 277 - Prato
Opening times: Every day everyday from 9:30 to 18
Phone: 057 5317
Website: www.centropecci.it
