MUSEUMSGALLERIES

and

of Florence and surroundings

aziendadi promozioneturisticafirenze

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MUSEUMSGALLERIES

and

of Florence and surroundings

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MUSEUMSGALLERIES

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INDEX

Text by: Caterina Caneva, vice-Director of the Uffizi GalleryEditorial staff: Publishing Deptm. APT Firenze, Lara Fantoni, Francesca Galluzzi, Luciano LeoniImages: APT and archives of the museumsPhotolith: Selecolor - FlorencePrinted by: Tipografia Giuntina - FlorenceDesign: Sesamo Comunicazione Visiva – Figline Valdarno ( Florence)Translation: Sinergia Alfa

The text is updated August 31, 1999

Cover image: Botticelli’s “Primavera” (detail)

Via A. Manzoni 1650121 FirenzeTel. 05523320Fax 0552346286Http://www.firenze.turismo.toscana.it

FLORENCE

Appartamenti Reali 15Battistero 108Cappella Brancacci 82Cappelle Medicee 29Casa Buonarroti 124Casa di Dante 128Casa Guidi 126Casa Siviero 129Cenacolo del Ghirlandaio

a Ognissanti 48Cenacolo di Fuligno 50Cenacolo di Santa Apollonia 48Cenacolo di San Salvi 50Certosa 130Chiostro dello Scalzo 52Crocefissione del Perugino 54Duomo e Campanile di Giotto 104Fondazione Romano

nel Cenacolo di Santo Spirito 80Galleria d’Arte Moderna 16Galleria degli Uffizi 8Galleria del Costume 24Galleria dell’Accademia 32Galleria dello Spedale

degli Innocenti 116Galleria Palatina 18Galleria Rinaldo Carnielo 80Giardino di Boboli 56Giardino di Castello 60Museo Archeologico 44Museo Bardini 72Museo Botanico 98Museo degli Argenti 20Museo del Bigallo 114Museo dell’Opera del Duomo 110Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce 112Museo dell’Opificio

delle Pietre Dure 36

Museo delle Carrozze 24Museo delle Porcellane 22Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia 92Museo di Mineralogia e Litologia 96Museo di Orsanmichele 64Museo di Palazzo Davanzati

o della Casa Fiorentina Antica 40Museo di San Marco 34Museo di Storia della Fotografia

Fratelli Alinari 134Museo di Storia della Scienza 86Museo Diocesano

di Santo Stefano al Ponte 138Museo e Chiostri monumentali

di Santa Maria Novella 78Museo Egizio 46Museo Fiorentino di Preistoria

“Paolo Graziosi” 94Museo Horne 118Museo Marino Marini

Fondazione Marini San Pancrazio 132Museo Nazionale di Antropologia

ed Etnologia 90Museo Nazionale Il Bargello 26Museo Stibbert 120Museo Storico Topografico

“Firenze com’era” 74Museo Zoologico La Specola 88Orto Botanico dell’Università

degli Studi di Firenze 100Palazzo Medici Riccardi 122Palazzo Pitti 14Palazzo Vecchio 68Raccolta Alberto della Ragione

e Collezioni del Novecento 76Scavi di Santa Reparata 106Sinagoga di Firenze e Museo

di Storia e Arte Ebraica 136Villa della Petraia 62

The museums of Florence are a constel-lation. Some are like large stars that shineof their own light (the Uffizi Gallery, theAcademy, the Palatine Gallery, The MediciChapels, the Garden of Boboli), thoughthere are also smaller planets that fewknow and are visited even less.

Considered as a whole, the museums ofFlorence form a vast and varied reality,with the diversities typical of a continent.They display everything you can think of:art and history, ethnography and folk tra-ditions, scientific relics and excellent exam-ples of craftsmanship, religious images andancient classic myths, the oldest examplesof antiquities and the most modern exam-ples of modernity.

Every year the museums of Florence arevisited by almost six million visitors.Twelve million feet that weigh, stamp andconsume. Twelve million hands that cantouch and often do, because it is difficult to

resist the temptation of caressing some-thing we like and we want to transmit ouradmiration to.

This means that the museums ofFlorence are also a problem. Managingsuch a complex and delicate machine isreally a problem. Reconciling the expecta-tions of so many visitors and the need ofdefending a heritage that cannot be dam-aged beyond measure or subjected to certainrisks, requires extraordinary professional-ism, specialisation and commitment.

I believe I can say that the personnelresponsible for watching our museums isequal to this task, regardless of the publicadministration to which they belong.Serving the people of museums and at thesame time the universe of cultural heritagehas no voices or trade unionists to representit. It is a hard and delicate job. We try to doour best, well aware of our limits, and yetproud of our role.

Antonio Paolucci

The Head of the Monuments and Fine Arts Office of Florence, Prato and Pistoia

IntroductionTHE SURROUNDINGS OF FLORENCE

Bagno a RipoliAntiquarium 142Oratorio Santa Caterina 142

FiesoleArea Archeologica

e Museo Archeologico 144Museo Bandini 146Museo Primo Conti 146

Sesto FiorentinoMuseo Richard Ginori

della Manifattura di Doccia 148Tomba etrusca La Montagnola 148Tomba etrusca La Mula 148

SignaMuseo della Paglia e dell’Intreccio

Domenico Michelacci 150

CHIANTI

Barberino Val d’ElsaAntiquarium di Sant’Appiano 152

GreveMuseo di Arte Sacra di San

Francesco a Greve in Chianti 152Impruneta

Museo del Tesoro di Santa Maria 154San Casciano in Val di Pesa

Museo di Arte Sacra 154Tavarnelle in Val di Pesa

Museo di Arte Sacra 156

EMPOLESE-VALDELSA

Cerreto GuidiMuseo della Villa Medicea 158

EmpoliMuseo Civico di Paleontologia 160Museo della Collegiata di S. Andrea 162

FucecchioMuseo Civico di Fucecchio 164

Montelupo FiorentinoMuseo Archeologico

e della Ceramica 166Vinci

Casa di Leonardo 170Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci 168Museo Leonardiano 170

CastelfiorentinoGli Affreschi di Benozzo Gozzoli 172Museo di Arte Sacra 172

CertaldoCasa di Boccaccio 174

MontaioneConvento e Sacro Monte

di San Vivaldo 174Montespertoli

Museo di Arte Sacra 176

MUGELLO-ALTO MUGELLO-VAL DI SIEVE

Borgo San LorenzoMuseo della Civiltà Contadina

di Casa d’Erci 178Vaglia

Parco di Pratolino - Villa Demidoff 178Scarperia

Museo dei ferri taglienti 180Vicchio

Museo Casa di Giotto 182Palazzuolo sul Senio

Museo della vita e del lavorodelle genti di montagna 182

DicomanoScavi Archeologici di “Frascole” 184

VALDARNO

Figline ValdarnoMuseo della civiltà contadina

di Gaville 186

STATE MUSEUMS

CITY MUSEUMSSCIENCE MUSEUMSOTHER MUSEUMSMUSEUMS IN THE SURROUNDINGS

m u s e u m s a n d g a l l e r i e s

GALLERIA

DEGLI UFFIZI

THE UFFIZI GALLERYLOGGIATO DEGLI UFFIZI 6 - FLORENCE

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The building that is now seat of theGallery was built in the mid-sixteenthcentury by the architect Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574) in a period when Cosimo Ide’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany,was bureaucratically consolidating thisrecently acquired position. The buildingwas meant in fact to house the offices ofthe magistrates (Uffici=offices). Fromthe beginning however, the Medici setaside some of the rooms on the thirdfloor to house the finest works from theircollection. Two centuries later, thanks tothe generosity of the last heir of the fam-ily, Anna Maria Luisa, their collectionbecame permanent public property.

The museum now comprises therooms on the third floor of the build-ing, that display in chronologicalorder paintings ranging from the 13thto the 18th centuries. The most pre-cious and famous group of paintings ofthe Uffizi are however represented bythe works of the Italian Renaissanceartists, although several sections of themuseum are devoted to the works offoreign artists (German, Flemish,Dutch and French).

In addition to paintings, the Uffiziexhibits a fine collection of Roman sculp-tures (portraits, emperors and divinities)that are displayed in the corridors deco-rated with frescoed and sculptured ceil-ings of the 16th and 17th centuries.

On the ground floor it is still possi-ble to admire the remains of the ancientRomanesque church of San PieroScheraggio, which was partiallydestroyed by Vasari to build the Uffizi.The second floor houses the Prints andDrawings Department, which compris-es one of the most important collectionsin the world that was started by aMedici, the Cardinal Leopoldo, duringthe 17th century.

If we follow the natural layout of therooms, we enter the large rooms that dis-play the great altarpieces of Cimabue,Giotto, Duccio di Buoninsegna, the firstremarkable examples of western paint-ing, followed by the remarkable worksof 14th century Siennese artists, such asSimone Martini and the brothers Pieroand Ambrogio Lorenzetti and the pupilsof Giotto. The following rooms displaysome fine examples of the InternationalGothic style: the Adoration of the Magi byGentile da Fabriano and another one byLorenzo Monaco, before actually reach-ing the most important rooms of themuseum that are dedicated to the earlyRenaissance. These rooms exhibit worksby Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, DomenicoVeneziano, Piero della Francesca, BeatoAngelico, followed by the elegantMadonnas of Filippo Lippi, by the pre-cious panels of the brothers Piero andAntonio del Pollaiolo to end with themythological allegories and religious

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BotticelliTHE SPRING

PontormoSUPPER AT EMMAUS

Justus SustermansPORTRAIT OF GALILEO GALILEI

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GiottoMAJESTYGALLERIA

DEGLI UFFIZI

paintings of Sandro Botticelli. Of thisartist, the museum preserves perhapsthe finest collection of works, compris-ing the Birth of Venus, the Primavera, theMagnificat and Pomegranate Madonnas.

It is then the turn of Perugino,Signorelli, Piero di Cosimo andLeonardo da Vinci; the latter is repre-sented both with the painting the Baptismof Christ painted together withVerrocchio, the large Adoration of the Magiand his early work the Annunciation.

The following rooms (from n. 18 ton. 23) are the oldest of the museum; it iswell worth stopping to admire theTribuna that originally contained themost precious works and objects. Todayit displays also a series of portraits ofthe Medici family by Agnolo Bronzino,in addition to the oldest sculpture pieceof the museum, the Medici Venus. Thefollowing rooms, originally used asarmouries, offer again more paintingsby Renaissance artists, both Italian –with works by Bellini, Giorgione,Mantegna and Correggio – and foreignartists with paintings by Dürer,Cranach, Memling.

Continuing along the rooms on thewestern side of the Gallery, it is possibleto admire more 16th century master-pieces, starting from the "Tondo Doni" byMichelangelo, the Madonna of the

goldfinch by Raphael and the Venus ofUrbino and Flora by Titian. Even the sec-tion dedicated to Mannerism is lavishand comprises works by Pontormo,Rosso Fiorentino, Bronzino down toParmigianino (Madonna with the longneck) and famous Venetian artists suchas Sebastiano del Piombo, Veronese,Tintoretto, and Lombard ones likeSavoldo and Moroni. Until not so longago the visit to the gallery ended withsome 17th century works by famousItalian (Caravaggio, Carracci) andDutch (Rembrandt) artists. The muse-um has recently restored the last roomsof this section after the explosion of1993, also in view of the enlargement ofthe lower floors of the building that wereoccupied by the State Archive until notso long ago. The project for the “NewUffizi gallery”, which is already under-way, will significantly alter the originallayout of the museum, doubling theexhibition rooms. Thanks to this newarrangement it will be possible to dis-tribute more evenly works that are nowconcentrated in a few rooms, exhibitpaintings that are now stored in thegallery's warehouses or include wholecollections that had to be displayed else-where, like the Contini Bonacossi collec-tion (see below), due to lack of space. Itis too early to foresee the exact layout ofthe new gallery, although it is certainthat the collections will be arranged inchronological order and by schools.

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THE UFFIZI GALLERYLOGGIATO DEGLI UFFIZI 6 - FLORENCE

CAFETERIABOOKSHOP

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GALLERIA

DEGLI UFFIZI

THE UFFIZI GALLERYLOGGIATO DEGLI UFFIZI 6 - FLORENCE

CAFETERIABOOKSHOPENTRANCE AND TOILETS ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

The eastern section of the groundfloor will be instead used to welcomevisitors and to house the bookshop,with new rooms designed to offer amore comfortable and tidier approachto the large number of tourist that visitthe Uffizi all the year round.

The visit to the Gallery could ideallyend with another section: that is thefamous Vasari Corridor, built by Vasariin 1565. The Corridor joins the Uffizi toPalazzo Vecchio, crosses the river Arnoabove Ponte Vecchio and is connectedwith Palazzo Pitti and the BoboliGardens. Recently restored after theexplosion of the bomb, the corridornow displays over seven hundred workscomprising mainly the important groupof Self-portraits (from Andrea del Sartoto Marc Chagall). At present the corri-dor can be visited only by groups andby reserving the visit ahead.

In 1998 the Gallery has also acquiredthe Contini Bonacossi collection, withtemporary entrance from ViaLambertesca. The collection had beenformerly displayed in the Palazzinadella Meridiana of Palazzo Pitti due tolack of space. The collection comprisesthirty-five paintings, twelve sculptures,eleven large coats of arms by DellaRobbia, in addition to a remarkablegroup of ancient furniture pieces andmajolicas, which were originally part of

perhaps the most prestigious collectionever gathered, belonging to AlessandroContini Bonacossi. The most importantpieces are now property of the State,after long and complex hereditary nego-tiations with the heirs. Its acquisitionsignificantly enriches the patrimony ofthe Uffizi. Among its pieces we findworks attributed to Cimabue andDuccio, in addition to large woodenpanels by Sassetta and Giovanni delBiondo, a fresco by Andrea delCastagno and a superb group of paint-ings of Venetian artists (Veronese,Giambellino, Tintoretto, Cima daConegliano). One of the most preciouspieces is the San Lorenzo, an early workby Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

1312

Antonio and Piero del PollaioloALTAR PIECE WITH THREE SAINTS

Rosso FiorentinoA PUTTO PLAYING MUSIC

Paolo UccelloTHE BATTLE OF S. ROMANO

(detail)

APPARTAMENTI

REALI

MONUMENTAL APARTMENTSPITTI PALACE, PIAZZA PITTI - FLORENCE

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PALAZZO

PITTI

The palace, which houses severalimportant museums, was built in thesecond half of the 15th century proba-bly on a project of Filippo Brunelleschifor Luca Pitti, but was unfinished at hisdeath in 1472. The original building,formed by two floors and the groundfloors, with only five windows on eachfloor, was purchased in 1550 byEleonora da Toledo, the wife of theGrand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, thusbecoming the official residence of thefamily. For this reason it was widenedand changed, in 1560 by BartolomeoAmmannati and at the beginning of the17th century by Giulio and AlfonsoParigi. The latter two architects gavethe facade its present day aspect, withthe only exception of the two lateralprojecting pavilions that were built inthe age of the Lorraine family and com-pleted during the first half of the 19thcentury by Paoletti and Poccianti, whoalso built the Palazzina della Meridiana,added on to the rear section of the pala-ce overlooking the garden.

Most of the internal decoration wasalso executed during the 17th century byGiovanni da San Giovanni, Pietro daCortona, il Volterrano, Antonio DomenicoGabbiani and Sebastiano Ricci.

As regards the domestic life insidethe palace, we know that it was thehome of several components of the

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THE PITTI PALACEPIAZZA PITTI - FLORENCE

family who were distributed in differentprivate apartments. The rooms on theleft wing belonged to the Grand Duke,while those on the right side were usedby the heir. The lateral wings housedthe apartments of their wives. Therooms on the second floor contained thelarge library, while the side rooms wereused for the children. The left side onthe ground floor housed the apartmentthat the Grand Duke used in summer.

Today, the palace and the Boboli gar-dens house the Palatine Gallery, theSilver Museum, the Museum of ModernArt, the Costume Gallery, the PorcelainMuseum and the Museum of Carriages.

The Monumental Apartments takeup the right wing of the main floor ofthe Pitti Palace and are an importantrecord of the history of the palace overthree subsequent historical periods.

To the first period (mid-16th century– end of 17th century), characterised bythe sumptuousness of the Medici court,belong the rooms along the facade thatwere specifically built for the heir. Thecorresponding rooms on the side weredestined to his wife. Today, they retainthe layout given by the Grand PrinceFerdinando dei Medici who lived in thispalace until he died (1713). There are stilla few treasures from the Medici period,including the precious ebony and semi-precious stone cabinet that belonged tothe Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere,the wife of Ferdinando II (17th century)and the chapel, once the bed alcove of theGrand Prince Ferdinando. Its late 17thcentury character is still evident in thestucco decoration and in the gilded inlaidwork by G. Battista Foggini (1652-1725)and the Madonna by Carlo Dolci (1616-1686) with its precious frame.

After the extinction of the Medicidynasty (1734), the apartments passedto the reigning House of Lorraine andwere therefore restored and re-fur-nished according to the changing tasteof the period. To this period belongmany of the ceilings decorated with

stucco and representing neo-classicalsubjects and the oval room, known asthe Queen's Dressing Room, with lighthand-embroidered silk panels to thedesigns of Ignazio Pellegrini and a ceil-ing decorated with coloured Rococostucco, typical of the 18th century.

At the time of Italy's Unification andwhen Florence was briefly chosen ascapital of Italy (1866-70), theApartments were used by King VictorEmanuel II of Savoy. Some rooms wereentirely re-furnished and carpetedaccording to the taste of the period, asthe mid 19th century Baroque reddamask in the throne room shows.

The three different styles that corre-spond to three different historical peri-ods, are harmoniously balanced in theseprecious rooms that were reopened to thepublic in 1993 after the restoration andgeneral reorganisation of the inventory ofthe Pitti Palace, performed in 1911, thatgives us an idea of its appearance beforeits transfer to the State (1914).

In addition to the above-mentionedrooms, it is worth visiting also some of therooms located on the sides of the firstgroup, like the Room of Bona frescoed byBernardino Poccetti in 1608, and theWhite Room, which was entirely decorat-ed with stuccoes by Grato Albertolli dur-ing the reign of the House of Lorraine.

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Stefano UssiTHE EXECUTION OF SAVONAROLA

Giovanni FattoriPORTRAIT OF DIEGO MARTELLI

GALLERIA

D’ARTE MODERNA

Since 1924, the Gallery has beenarranged on the second floor of thepalace and extends as far as the roomson the facade used by the Medici for thepalace library and the side wings usedfor children and retainers. It was found-ed in 1914 and initially comprised worksof art brought in from the Academy ofFine Arts. Today it has a very specialjuridical nature due to a conventionsigned by the Italian State and theMunicipal Administration of Florence.

The thirty rooms of the Gallery haverecently been reorganized, according tochronological criteria, over a period oftime going from Neoclassicism (the ageof Peter Leopold) to the 1920’s. Therooms on the second floor have beenrestored, but the decoration, upholster-ing and furniture of the Lorraine periodhave been maintained.

The itinerary begins with bothNeoclassic works like the Oath of theSaxons to Napoleon by Pietro Benvenutiand romantic works like the grandioseEntry of Charles VIII by GiuseppeBezzuoli or The two Foscari by FrancescoHayez. There are also many fine sculp-tures of the same period like Calliope ofAntonio Canova, Psyche by PietroTenerani and the famous Abel byGiovanni Duprè. The collection includesa vast assortment of paintings based onhistorical subjects that document one ofmost significant aspects of the first halfof the 19th century culture. These com-prise works by Sabatelli, Pollastrini or

by Stefano Ussi with his famousExpulsion of the Duke of Athens. Yet thepaintings that most characterise theGallery are those of the Macchiaioli, thefamous Tuscan artists of the mid-19thcentury that set out the premise for awide-scale innovation at a national level.This section comprises important worksby Giovanni Fattori, like the RotondaPalmieri, the Battle of Magenta, the"Staffato", and a rich series of landscapesand scenes of life in the Maremma (theMarket in Maremma, the Ox cart, the Saltodelle pecore). Many of the works of theseartists displayed in the Gallery belong tothe collection of Diego Martelli, a criticand friend of the Macchiaioli who lefttheir paintings to the museum at the endof the last century.

There are also many paintings bySilvestro Lega and Telemaco Signoriniwith views and interior scenes, whileGiovanni Boldini is represented with aseries of his rapid and elegant portraits.The sculptures of this section includethe works by Adriano Cecioni, wholucidly translated and experimented thetonal ideas prevalent to whom the touchwas so important.

In addition to the above-mentionedcollections belonging to the early andlate 19th century, the Museum also dis-plays a lavish collection of 19th centuryworks that will be arranged in the so-called “Mezzanino degli Occhi”(Mezzanine of the Eyes, the “eyes”being windows in the shape of a circle).

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GALLERY OF MODERN ARTPALAZZO PITTI, PIAZZA PITTI - FLORENCE

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GALLERIA

PALATINA

THE PALATINE GALLERYPALAZZO PITTI, PIAZZA PITTI - FLORENCE

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1918

Filippo LippiTONDO BARTOLINI

RaphaelLA VELATA

RaphaelMADONNA DEL GRANDUCA

The Gallery takes its name from thefact that it is located in the palace of thereigning family and was opened to thepublic by the House of Lorraine in1828. Even today it still preserves thetypical layout of a private collection,with a sumptuous combination of lavishinterior decoration and the original richpicture frames. Unlike most of themuseums reorganised in recent times,the Palatine Gallery does not follow achronological order nor schools ofpaintings, revealing instead the lavish-ness and personal taste of the inhabi-tants of the palace. The rooms thathouse the gallery can be entered fromthe staircase erected by Ammannati. Atthe time of the Medici, these roomsformed the apartments of the GrandDuke and his audience rooms. They arepartially frescoed by Pietro da Cortona(1596-1669) with an imposing decora-tive cycle that makes use of classicalmyth to allude to the Life and education ofthe Prince. This complex of frescoes andstuccoes, perhaps the most representa-tive example of Florentine Baroque,provides a splendid framework for thedisplayed works ranging from the 16thto the 17th centuries.

One of the most significant groupsof works of the collection is formed bythe works of Titian and Raphael, whichwere received by the Medici throughthe will of Vittoria della Rovere, the last

daughter of the Dukes of Urbino andwife of Ferdinando II de’ Medici. It issufficient to remember the Portrait of agentleman and Magdalene by Titian andthe Madonna of the Grand Duke, theMadonna of the Chair and the portrait ofMaddalena Doni by Raphael.

The Gallery also offers a full view of17th century European painting, dis-playing very famous works like thepaintings of Rubens (The four philoso-phers, The Allegory of war), the portrait ofCardinal Bentivoglio by Van Dyck, theportraits by Giusto Sustermans, whichportray some of the personalities of thegrand ducal family, the Madonna withChild by Murillo, the Sleeping Cupid byCaravaggio, and other portraits byFrans Pourbus or Velazquez. There arealso older works, all very exceptional,painted by Bronzino, Fra Bartolomeo,Piero del Pollaiolo and Filippo Lippi.

Some of the most important rooms,from an historical and artistic point ofview, are the Music Room decoratedand furnished in a neo-classic style; thePutti room entirely dedicated toFlemish painting and the Stove room, amasterpiece by Pietro da Cortona whopainted it in 1637 with the Four Ages ofMan, commissioned by the Medici,which represented the inauguration ofthe Baroque season for the Florentinepainting school.

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Turned ivory vase.17th century German artMUSEO

DEGLI ARGENTI

The rooms on the ground floor ofPalazzo Pitti, originally the grand ducal sum-mer apartments, and the mezzanine roomswere chosen in 1861 as the location of theSilver Museum, which collects various kindsof precious objects (gems, cameos, semi-pre-cious stones, ivory, jewels, silver....) to docu-ment the sumptuous life of the princes andthe collections owned by the dynasties thatruled Tuscany, with specific attention to theMedici and Lorraine families.

The core of the collection of Medici ori-gin was originally preserved in PalazzoMedici in via Larga (now via Cavour),where Cosimo the Elder had started in the15th century a lavish and diverse collectionof precious objects, which would be laterincreased by his son Piero and his grandsonLorenzo the Magnificent. One of the mostvaluable categories comprises the vases ofLorenzo, which are extremely valuablepieces both historically and artistically.

The enrichment of the family collectionsin the 16th century by the Grand DukeCosimo marks the cultural policy of theMedici, aimed at protecting artists and atdirectly commissioning precious objects. Asa result, Florence became one of the mostqualified centres in the production of the so-called "minor arts". The grand ducal work-shops, strengthened by the second GrandDuke of Tuscany, Francesco, organised theirindependent and functional premises in theUffizi palace under Ferdinando I de’ Mediciin 1588. Cutters of crystal, cameos and semi-precious stones, goldsmiths, etc. competed indisplays of invention and superb techniqueto produce the objects that still constitute themain core of the Museum. Many of the jew-

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THE SILVER MUSEUMPALAZZO PITTI, PIAZZA PITTI - FLORENCE

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE - BOOKSHOPGUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOLS CAN BE RESERVED BY PHONING THE DIDACTIC

DEPARTMENT OF THE MUSEUMS AND FINE ARTS OFFICE 0552388658

Small putto riding a horse. 16th centuryFlemish art from the A.M.L. Medici collection.

Flask in solid gold with ornaments in enameland the court of arms of the city of Salzburg,by the goldsmith Hans Karl, 1602.

els were sent as gifts to the kings and power-ful families in Europe with which the Medicihad formed a close network of relations.

One of the most refined examples is thegold-mounted lapislazuli vase by the gold-smith Bilivert, based on a design ofBernardo Buontalenti, which fully docu-ments the preciousness of the 16th centuryManneristic taste. Equally precious are theobjects cut in ivory brought from Germanyin the 17th century by Prince Mattias de’Medici and the large collection of cameosand the so-called “Galanterie ingioiellate” ofAnna Maria Luisa, the last Medici (early18th century), who purchased preciousjewels in the whole of Europe.

Equally extraordinary are the objectsbrought to Florence by Ferdinando III ofLorraine after his return from exile follow-ing the brief Napoleonic period. The oldestand most beautifully worked pieces are thegold plates, beakers, "corni potori" (drink-ing horns) and wooden cups mounted insilver and enamel.

The present arrangement of the museumaims at focusing both on the different aspectsof the grand ducal collection and on the beau-ty of the rooms chosen to display it, whichsignificantly underline some of the aspects ofthe Florentine artistic culture. These includethe great room frescoed by Giovanni da SanGiovanni (1592-1636) and his assistants onthe occasion of the marriage of Ferdinando IIde’ Medici and Vittoria della Rovere (1634),where sumptuous mythological allegoriesand references highlight the many aspects ofthe cultural and political life of the Mediciunder Lorenzo the Magnificent.

MUSEO

DELLE PORCELLANE

THE PORCELAIN MUSEUMGIARDINO DI BOBOLI, "CASINO DEL CAVALIERE" - FLORENCE

BOOKSHOP - CAFETERIAGUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOL GROUPS CAN BE ARRANGED BY PHONINGTHE MONUMENTS AND FINE ARTS OFFICE AT 0552388658

2322

Oyster tray.Sèvres manufacture, 17th century.

Biscuit showing Maria Teresaand Joseph II of Austria.

Vienna manufacture, 18th century.

Small cup with a view of Palazzo Pitti.Doccia manufacture, 19th century.

Vase with chinoseries.Meissen manufacture, 18th century.

Since 1973, the Porcelain Museum,which is a section of the SilverMuseum, is located in the "Casino delCavaliere", built in the 17th century atthe top of the hill that overlooks theGardens of Boboli, which was chosenas a retreat for the Grand Duke. Thehomogeneous collections comprisesmainly porcelain tableware belongingto the royal families that ruled Tuscany(Medici, Lorraine, Savoy), thus clearlyreflecting their tastes.

The collection is divided by periods,nations and manufacturers. There areseveral outstanding examples of Italianporcelain objects produced in Doccia,which were especially used by the Grandducal family for large services of daily use,and at the Royal Manufactory of Naples.

Foreign objects include fine tablesets from Vienna and from the GermanManufactory of Meissen, in addition toFrench porcelain from Vincennes andSèvres, brought to the Pitti Palace bythe Savoy House from the royal palaceof Parma. The Grand Duchess ofParma, Luisa Elisabetta, was in fact thedaughter of Luis XV. Some of theobjects are also gifts from Napoleon tohis sister Elisa Baciocchi, GrandDuchess of Tuscany from 1809 to 1814.

The oldest pieces of the collectionsare those that once belonged to Gian

Gastone, the last Medici Grand Duke(1671-1737) produced in theManufactory of Meissen.

25

A SHOWCASEThe Costume GalleryGALLERIA

DEL COSTUME

The Costume Gallery is housed in thesmall building of the Meridiana of thePitti Palace, which was begun underGrand Duke Pietro Leopoldo in 1776and ended in 1840 and chosen as resi-dence by the families that ruled Tuscanyand by the Savoy house until 1946. TheLorraine/Savoy rooms display the exhi-bitions of the collections of historicalclothes and accessories, which had previ-ously been stored in the palace's ware-houses. The collections cover the periodbetween the 18th century and the pre-sent-day. The recent restoration of thefuneral garments of Grand DukeCosimo I de’ Medici, of Eleonora ofToledo and of her son Don Garzia hasfurther enriched the museum with somerare examples from the 16th century.

The rooms, equipped with air-condi-tioned display stands, exhibit every two

years different selections of clothes inorder to represent the evolution of fash-ion for didactic purposes. Some of therooms, like the dancing hall, are insteadused for temporary exhibitions. Thedecision to change the displayed clothesevery two years originates from theneed of guaranteeing their preservation,but also offers the opportunity of dis-playing the patrimony preserved in thedepository, mostly from private donors.

The collections of the CostumeGallery also include a group of aboutninety theatre costumes belonging to theSartoria Tirelli, which were given to themuseum together with a large number ofhistorical clothes by Umberto Tirelli.

The Meridiana building, close to thegallery, is also the seat of a fabricrestoration laboratory.

24

THE COSTUME GALLERYPALAZZINA DELLA MERIDIANA – PITTI PALACE

PIAZZA PITTI - FLORENCE

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOPCAFETERIA

MUSEO

DELLE CARROZZE

THE MUSEUM OF CARRIAGESPALAZZO PITTI, PIAZZA PITTI - FLORENCE

Situated in the projecting wing to theright of Palazzo Pitti, the Museum pre-serves a fine collection of carriages ofthe 18th and 19th centuries that once

belonged to the ruling families of theLorraine and Savoy Houses.The museum is presently closed.

MUSEO NAZIONALE

IL BARGELLO

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BARGELLOVIA DEL PROCONSOLO 4 - FLORENCE

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The National Museum has its settingin one of the oldest buildings inFlorence that dates back to 1255.Initially the headquarters of theCapitano del Popolo (Captain of thePeople) and later of the Podestà, thepalace became, in the sixteenth century,the residence of the Bargello that is ofthe head of the police (from which thepalace takes its name) and was used asprison during the whole 18th century.Its walls witnessed important episodesof civic history. It was the meeting placeof the Council of the Hundred in whichDante took part. It witnessed sieges,fires, executions, the most famous per-haps being that of Baroncelli, involvedin the Pazzi plot against the Medici,which Leonardo also witnessed. Duringthe 14th and 15th century, the palacewas subjected to a series of alterationsand additions, still preserving its har-monious severity, best seen in the beau-tiful courtyard, the balcony and thelarge hall on the first floor.

The building's use as NationalMuseum began in the mid-19th century.Today it is the setting for works ofsculpture, mainly from the grand ducalcollections, and for many examples of"minor" Gothic decorative arts.

The large 14th century hall on thefirst floor displays some works byDonatello (1386-1466) including the

early marble David, the St. George movedto this location from the niche inOrsammichele, the more mature andambiguous bronze David, the Atys andthe Marzocco, originally installed on thebattlements of Palazzo Vecchio. Theworks of the master are surrounded bythe most delicate works of his pupilsDesiderio da Settignano (c. 1430-1464)and Antonio Rossellino (c. 1427-1479).The collection also includes the two pan-els entered by Lorenzo Ghiberti andFilippo Brunelleschi for the Baptisterydoor competition of 1401. TheRenaissance repertoire comprises theglazed terracottas by Luca della Robbia(c.1400 -1482) that include a very extra-ordinary group of Madonnas with Child.

The rooms on the ground floorexhibit Tuscan 16th century works,focusing in particular on four master-pieces by Michelangelo (1475-1564):Bacchus, the relief representing aMadonna with Child, Brutus and David-Apollo. The assortment is then followedby works of Andrea Sansovino (1460-1529), Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570),Baccio Bandinelli (1488-1560),Bartolomeo Ammannati (1511-1592),Benvenuto Cellini (the model ofPerseus and the small bronze sculptureswere moved to this location from theLoggia dell'Orcagna), down toGiambologna (1529-1608) with hisadmirable Mercury. The bronze animals

2726

PAINTED CHEST:representation of the procession

with St. John's Palio, Florentine School

DonatelloDAVID

CAPPELLE

MEDICEE

THE MEDICI CHAPELSPIAZZA MADONNA DEGLI ALDOBRANDINI - FLORENCE

The Medici Chapels form part of amonumental complex developed overalmost two centuries in close connec-tion with the adjoining church of S.Lorenzo, considered the “official”church of the Medici, who chose it atthe time they lived in the neighbouringpalace of Via Larga (now Medici-Riccardi Palace, see the related sec-tion). The decision to build their mau-soleum in this church dates back to the14th century (Giovanni di Bicci and hiswife Piccarda were for instance buriedin the Old Sacristy, built on a project ofBrunelleschi). The project of building aproper family mausoleum was con-ceived in 1520, when Michelangelostarted working at the New Sacristy uponrequest of Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici,the future Pope Clemens VII, whoexpressed the desire to erect a mau-soleum on behalf of some members ofhis family: Lorenzo the Magnificent andhis brother Giuliano, Lorenzo Duke ofUrbino and Giuliano, Duke ofNemours. After completing the archi-tectural works in 1524, Michelangeloworked until 1533 on the sculpturesthat would have decorated the wallsand the very original sarcophagi. Theonly ones actually completed were thestatues of Lorenzo Duke of Urbino and ofGiuliano Duke of Nemours, in addition tothe allegories of Day and Night, Dawnand Dusk, and the group representingthe Madonna with Child flanked by Saints

Cosma and Damian (protectors of theMedici), executed respectively byMontorsoli and Baccio da Montelupo,both pupils of Buonarroti.

The solid and articulated architec-tural structure and the strength ofMichelangelo's sculptures clearlyreflect a complex symbolism that offersan interpretation of Human Life whereactive and contemplative life interact tofree the soul after death, following aphilosophical concept that was closelylinked with Michelangelo's spirituality.

Numerous drawings by Michelangelowere found in a small space beneath theapse. They had been drawn, as oftenoccurred, by the artist and may be related tothe statues and architecture of the Sacristy.

The Chapel of the Princes

This Chapel is yet another grandioseand pompous mausoleum erectedbetween 1604 and 1640 by the architectMatteo Nigetti to the designs of Giovannide’ Medici, a member of the family whopractised architecture in a semi-profes-sional manner. The Mausoleum was con-ceived to celebrate, with its large domeand lavish interior decorated with mar-bles, the power of the Medici dynasty,which had safely been ruling Florence forseveral centuries. The octagonal room

29

MUSEO NAZIONALE

IL BARGELLO

that were originally placed in the grottoof the Medici villa of Castello are nowdisplayed on the staircases.

The museum stores however manyother treasures: fine works of artenriched by the Carrand, Ressman andFranchetti collections comprising deco-rative or “minor” arts are distributedamong the several rooms of the Palace,both on the first and second floor. Fromivories that include several Roman andByzantine examples, down to medievalglazes and Limoges porcelain; fromGerman and French gold works,Renaissance jewels down to Islamicexamples of damascened bronze; fromgrand ducal collections down toVenetian glass. The museum displaysseveral treasures including very uniquepanel pieces and wooden sculptures. Ofnote are also the majolicas, arms andsmall bronze statues.

Two rooms on the second floor arededicated to the glazed terracottas cre-ated by Andrea and Giovanni DellaRobbia, besides displaying the bronzeDavid and the Lady with Posy byVerrocchio in the room named after theartist, which displays also an extraordi-nary collection of busts of Florentinepersonalities made by some of the mostimportant 15th century artists. One ofthe most important sculptures is theportrait of Costanza Buonarelli by Gian

Lorenzo Bernini. It is also worth visit-ing the very lavish collection of medalsbelonging to the Medici family.

28

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BARGELLOVIA DEL PROCONSOLO 4 - FLORENCE

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31

MichelangeloTHE TOMB OF GIULIANODuke of Nemours

CAPPELLE

MEDICEE

designed to receive the bodies of thegrand dukes is in fact almost entirely dec-orated with semi-precious stones andmarbles. The grand ducal sarcophagi arecompleted with bronze statues andinserted in niches. The inlay of the semi-precious stones, partially executed by theextremely skilled workers employed inthe laboratories of the Opificio dellePietre dure (see the related section) tookseveral centuries to be completed due tothe difficulty of finding these materials,available only at a very high cost.

The dome should have originally hadan internal coating of lapis lazuli butwas left incomplete at the end of theMedici period and frescoed in 1828 byPietro Benvenuti with scenes of theNew and Old Testament at command ofthe reigning Lorraine family.

30

CAPPELLE MEDICEEPIAZZA MADONNA DEGLI ALDOBRANDINI - FIRENZE

GALLERIA

DELL’ ACCADEMIA

THE ACCADEMIA GALLERYVIA RICASOLI 60 - FLORENCE

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3332

Master of Adimari ChestADIMARI CHEST

MichelangeloDAVID

The most enlightened prince of theLorraine family that ruled over Tuscanyfor over a century, the Grand DukePietro Leopoldo, united in 1784 all theFlorentine drawing schools into oneAcademy. He also founded a gallery toexhibit earlier paintings with the aim offacilitating the study of the Academy'spupils. The seat chosen is the presentlocation of the Museum, a building thatoriginally housed the Hospital of St.Matthew, enlarged in time through theaddition of several adjoining spaces.

The consistency and composition ofthe collections displayed in this museumhas changed over time due to the additionof works of art removed from suppressedconvents, but also due to loss of workstemporarily given or returned to otherFlorentine museums, in particular to theUffizi (Botticelli's Primavera was dis-played here for many years). Over timethe Gallery has become one of the mainmuseums in town, also thanks to theacquisition of some extraordinary master-pieces, such as the Pietà by Giovanni daMilano (14th century); the Annunciationby Lorenzo Monaco (15th century); thesplendid frontal called Cassone Adimarishowing a sumptuous marriage proces-sion (c. 1450) and the Madonna of the Seaattributed to Botticelli (1445-1510).

It is evident that the museum startedto become the favourite gallery of

tourists in 1873, when Michelangelo'sDavid was exhibited for the first time ona specially arranged tribune. For pro-tection purposes, the statue was in factremoved from Piazza Signoria where ithad represented for over four centuriesthe strength and dignity of theFlorentine Republic. In the early yearsof the 20th century, this statue wasjoined by other extraordinary works ofart by the same artist, such as St.Matthew and the four Prisoners originallymade for the tomb of Pope Julius II inRome, but placed in the grotto of theBoboli gardens at the end of the 15thcentury, and finally by the Pieta diPalestrina (whose attribution to the mas-ter is still somehow controversial).

A capillary organisation and restora-tion of some of the rooms on the upperfloor have allowed the museum torecently integrate the collection with aseries of paintings from the 14th to the16th centuries and to open a room dis-playing the chalk models of famous19th century sculptors like LorenzoBartolini and Luigi Pampaloni.

35

MichelozzoLIBRARY OF THE CONVENT

GhirlandaioTHE LAST SUPPER

MUSEO

DI SAN MARCO

The building that houses theMuseum (that was opened to the publicin 1869) is the old convent ofDominican order, restored and enlargedto its present size for Cosimo the Elderde’ Medici by the architect Michelozzo(1396-1472). Consecrated in 1443, thisbuilding was the scene of fervent reli-gious activity and played host to person-alities like S. Antonino Pierozzi, Bishopof Florence, Beato Angelico (c.1400-1450) and later Girolamo Savonarola.

The Museum offers visitors an exam-ple of a perfectly preserved 15th centuryconvent, based on the rational and har-monious plan inspired byBruschelleschi's innovations. On theother hand, the complex also contains theworks of Fra' Angelico, a Dominicanmonk who closely collaborated withMichelozzo and his pupils to the fresco ofthe large alms-house, the refectory, thecloister and the monks' cells on the firstfloor. One of the most famous frescoes isthe Crucifixion painted in the ChapterHouse, permeated by the contemplativemelancholy found in the refined spiritual-ity of the Dominicans. Among the fres-coes of the cells, which are austere yet fullof meditative inspiration for the brethren,we find the Annunciation, the Three Mariesat the Tomb, and the Noli me tangere.

The panel paintings in the Refectorycomprise the earlier works of Angelico,

in addition to a superb reredos showingthe Last Judgement and the Deposition setagainst the background of the Tuscanhills. In addition to the works of theDominican Fray, the museum displays abeautiful Last Supper frescoed byGhirlandaio at the end of the 15th cen-tury and a fine series of paintings byFra’ Bartolomeo, who spent some timein the convent at the beginning of the15th century and to whom an entireroom is dedicated. The Large Refectoryis instead dedicated to the painters of hisschool. The Library (one of the mostharmonious examples of Renaissancearchitecture) displays a fine collection ofilluminated manuscripts produced in theconvent that reflect the same spirit ofmeditative creativity. In addition to thecell that once belonged to Savonarola, itis also possible to visit the cells whereCosimo the Elder retired to meditate.

The Visitor's Area and the under-ground room display a tidy and wellpreserved collection of precious objectsand relics that were saved from the 19thcentury destruction of the convent, inaddition to a rare collection of bells.

34

THE MUSEUM OF SAN MARCOPIAZZA SAN MARCO 1

FLORENCE

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MUSEO DELL’ OPIFICIO

DELLE PIETRE DURE

THE OPIFICIO DELLE PIETRE DUREVIA DEGLI ALFANI 78 - FLORENCE

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“Art and nature” could be the mottoof this extraordinary museum dedicatedto semi-precious stone inlays, whereartistic talent competes only with thesplendour of the materials employed.

It was the passion of the Medici forthis precious form of art that led GrandDuke Ferdinando I de’ Medici to estab-lish in 1588 a court laboratory spe-cialised in semi-precious mosaics andinlays. This grand ducal institution,which remained active for over threecenturies, was the core of the Opificiodelle Pietre Dure, established at the endof the 19th century, which still has itsseat in the original location chosen in1798 for the laboratories formerlyhoused in the Uffizi.

The Florentine production was lavishand very prestigious and is today repre-sented by the fine examples preservedboth in Florentine and foreign museums.Yet, this small museum is the only insti-tution that focuses only on this themeand offers therefore the opportunity offully understanding this suggestivechapter of Florentine history. The col-lection is arranged by themes in chrono-logical order. The first section is dedicat-ed to The first Grand dukes and semi-pre-cious stone. This section displays por-phyry sculptures dating back to the ageof Cosimo I de’ Medici, who had a spe-cial predilection for this ancient and pre-

cious material, enriched by sophisticatedfurniture pieces in semi-precious stonesmade for his sons Francesco I andFerdinando I. The so-called "Florentinebrand" dates back to this period, that isto the late 16th century. The brand, thatwould continue to be for centuries thepride of the laboratory, consists in a veryimaginative mosaic technique that usednatural colours and precious stones, cutin sections and skilfully matched to forma larger image. “Stone painting” was theterm chosen by its initiators to defineFlorentine mosaics, because this tech-nique enables to represent a varyingrange of subjects, fully represented inthe museum, ranging from portraits toabstract subjects, from landscapes tostories with figures, from architecturalviews to natural themes.

Stone flowers is the section dedicatedto the very trendy theme of flowers, thatflourished between the 17th and 18thcenturies. Flowers were often matchedwith fruit and birds and were used inparticular to decorate table tops orcover chests. From the early years ofthe 17th century, the laboratory alsocontributed to the monumental projectof the Chapel of the Princes, the mau-soleum of the Medici family erected in1604 by Ferdinando I, who hadplanned to entirely decorate it withsemi-precious stones. Works were com-pleted only during mid-19th century.

3736

Table top with shells and coralbranches, from a drawing

of Carlo Carlieri, around 1816

Tile with flower vase,early 16th century

“PAINTING”a representation in semi-precious stones from a model

of G. Zocchi, 1753-1754

39

View of the roomof the first grand dukesMUSEO DELL’ OPIFICIO

DELLE PIETRE DURE

The incredible commitment of the labo-ratory is documented in the Museumwith several works and projects, con-nected with different phases of an activ-ity that covered several centuries.

Cammeos, small inlays, small pictureframes, chests and other furniture pieces,both religious and laic, where semi-pre-cious stones are often sumptuouslymatched with ebony and gilded bronzetypically indicate the Baroque taste ofthe Last members of the Medici family.

The last member of the family diedin 1737 and the dynasty was replacedby the Austrian Hapsburg-Lorrainefamily. The Lorraine period, which runsup to 1859, continued to foster the suc-cess of the laboratory, which producedseveral pictures in semi-preciousstones to the design of models drawnby the painter Giuseppe Zocchi anddestined to the Court of Vienna. Itsproduction also included neo-classiccompositions of vases and shellsdesigned to integrate the tableware ofthe Pitti Palace. During the mid-19thcentury, the laboratory artisansseemed to prefer lighter and more del-icate shades that were fashionablefrom the Rococo period to the Empireperiod, and again returned to the vel-vet fascination of black marble and tothe famous compositions of flowers.

The Opificio delle Pietre Dure after

the unification of Italy experienced afinancial decline, although its artisticlevel continued to the very high. Itsproducts were sold to bourgeois cus-tomers and comprised table tops, smallrefined objects, small sculptures insemi-precious stones, all characterisedby an impeccable style and an extraor-dinary taste in the matching of colours.Looking at these works of art andadmiring their complex yet naturalbeauty, visitors often wonder how theseworks are created. These questions findan answer in the section dedicated toThe Laboratory of semi-precious stones thatguides visitors through the complexprocedure that leads to the creation ofFlorentine mosaics and inlays. Theincredible marble table displayed bythese artisans comprises hundreds ofsamples of precious stones. The tablealso represents models of drawings andgraphs that have been specifically creat-ed to be reproduced with semi-preciousstones. This section also offers a view ofthe 18th century working tables, ratheringenious yet functional, and of thetools used to carry out the different pro-duction stages.

The itinerary of the Museum endswith a section dedicated to Similar forms ofart: painting on stone and scagliola, a kind ofartistic production that was very fashion-able between the 17th and 18th centuries.

38

THE OPIFICIO DELLE PIETRE DUREVIA DEGLI ALFANI 78 - FLORENCE

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MUSEO DI

PALAZZO DAVANZATI

THE MUSEUM OF PALAZZO DAVANZATI OR OF THE OLD FLORENTINE HOUSEVIA PORTA ROSSA 13 - FLORENCE

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The Palace, built by the Davizzifamily around mid-14th century, waspurchased in 1578 by the Davanzatifamily (their coat of arms is still visibleon the façade) and remained in theirpossession until 1838, when it wasdivided into several flats and sufferedsevere damage.

In 1904 it was purchased and restoredby the antique dealer Elia Volpi, whoentirely furnished it and opened it to thepublic in 1910 as Museum of the OldFlorentine House. After alternate events,which comprised also the dispersion ofthe furniture pieces, the palace was pur-chased in 1951 by the State that reor-ganised it and opened it once more to thepublic in 1956.

Its most important feature is thearchitectural structure that representsan interesting example of 13th centuryhome showing the transition stage fromthe medieval tower house to theRenaissance building. The originalfaçade was decorated with a three-archloggia, now closed that was once openand used as a shop. A 16th century log-gia replaces the usual medieval battle-ments at the top of the building.

The interior, which also has anunderground gallery, has a suggestivecourtyard on the ground floor that givesaccess to the stone and wood staircase

with rampant arches leading up to thefour upper floors. The arrangement ofthe building shows that the rooms of thefirst floor have the same layout of thoseon the third floor. Rooms are articulatedin a “madornale”, that is a large audiencehall, dining rooms, bedrooms and “agia-menti” (toilets), a rarity in elegant hous-es of the period. All the rooms havefloors in cotto and ceilings in wood,some of which decorated with paintings.The walls of some of the rooms are dec-orated with frescoes and decorationsthat are quite popular in Florentine 13thcentury homes, representing curtainsand coat of arms. The most beautifulrooms are the Sala dei Pappagalli (TheParrot Room) and the Bedroom withscenes of the life of the Lady of Vergi.

The present arrangement of theMuseum aims at reconstructing the set-ting of an old Florentine home, withfurniture and household tools from the14th to the 19th centuries. Bedroomsdisplay for instance chests full of linenand cots, while the audience hall on thefirst floor exhibits a rare painted cabi-net, created by a Siennese artist of the16th century, and the wooden paintingshowing The Game of Civettino byGiovanni di Ser Giovanni nicknamed“Scheggia” dating back to the 15th cen-tury and the marble bust of a Child byAntonio Rossellino, also dating back tothe 15th century.

4140

The third floor kitchen

Seven hand warmers in glazed terracottain the shape of small shoes, WesternEuropean manufacture, 18th century

43

The staircase with rampantarches in stone and woodMUSEO DI

PALAZZO DAVANZATI

The museum also preserves a veryfine collection of old ceramics and the17th century hand warmers in theshape of shoes.

A very important document in thestory of the family and palace is theGenealogical tree of the Davanzati family,a work by an anonymous Tuscanpainter of the 17th century. The Statehas recently purchased a rare woodenchest or “throne-bed” with inlaid frontand headboard, manufactured in theTuscan-Umbran area during the lastquarter of the 15th century.

The kitchen on third floor exhibitsfurniture and ordinary daily household,together with working tools, like looms,warping machines and spinning wheelsthat document some of the activitiescarried out in the house.

The Museum also displays a very finecollection of lacework ranging from the16th to the 20th centuries and samplers.

At present, the Museum is closedfor restoration work. After its re-open-ing it will be partially accessible to dis-abled people.

42

THE MUSEUM OF PALAZZO DAVANZATI OR OF THE OLD FLORENTINE HOUSEVIA PORTA ROSSA 13 - FLORENCE

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MUSEO

ARCHEOLOGICO

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUMVIA DELLA COLONNA 36 - FLORENCE

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created and that the Etruscan sculpturesand small and large bronzes were added.

In addition to the above-mentionedworks, it is worth setting some timeaside to visit the section dedicated to thelavish assortment of Etruscan jewels.

4544

APOLLINO MILANIARRANGUER

Like many other Florentine museums,the Archaeological Museum stems fromthe collections of the Medici andLorraine families that were initally exhib-ited along with other treasures in theUffizi Gallery and moved to the Palazzodella Crocetta, the present day seat of theMuseum, in 1888 (the building waserected in 1620 by Giulio Parigi).

The main core of the collectionfocuses on Etruscan civilisation thatinterested in particular Cosimo theEldest of the Medici family. But it wasthe Grand Duke Cosimo I who to puttogether the currently existing collec-tions in 16th century, though these werelater increased by his successors (and inparticular by Cardinal Leopoldo). Overtime the collection was enriched withfamous works like the Chimera of Arezzo,the Minerva of Arezzo and the Orator.

The collection was then continuedby the Lorraine family that added theextraordinary collection of Egyptianpieces, besides adding new pieces to theEtruscan section, which was organisedby series and studied by the scholars ofthe Lorraine court.

Additions continued also during the19th century with important works likethe Sarcophagus of the Amazons and theLarthia Seianti. It was at this time that anew section of Etruscan topography was

47

PORTRAIT OF FAYUMMUSEO

EGIZIO

The Egyptian Museum, which issecond only to the famous museum inTurin, takes up some of the rooms of theArchaeological Museum. The firstgroup of Egyptian antiquities was puttogether in the 17th century to includealso pieces that had been collected bythe Medici, although it was significant-ly increased during the 18th century byLeopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany,who purchased new collections andfinanced, together with Charles X, Kingof France, a scientific expedition toEgypt in the years between 1828 and1829. The expedition was directed byJean François Champollion, the famousscholar and interpreter of hieroglyphicsand by Ippolito Rosellini from Pisa,who would soon become the father ofEgyptian studies in Italy and a friendand disciple of Champollion. After thereturn of the expedition, the numerousobjects collected during the expeditionand during excavations of archaeologi-cal sites or purchased by local mer-chants, were equally divided betweenFlorence and the Louvre.

The Egyptian Museum of Florencewas officially established in 1855. In 1880the Piedmontese Egyptian scholarErnesto Schiaparelli, who was to becomethe director of the Egyptian Museum ofTurin, was assigned the task of transfer-ring and organising the Egyptian antiqui-ties in the present day location, which is

also the seat of the ArchaeologicalMuseum. Schiaparelli suitably increasedthe collections of the Museum withobjects found during his personal excava-tion campaigns and purchased in Egyptbefore his final transfer to Turin.

The last group of works acquired bythe Egyptian Museum of Florenceincludes pieces donated to the State byprivate contributors and scientificinstitutions.

Today the Museum exhibits over14,000 pieces, displayed in nine roomsand two warehouses. The exhibitionrooms have been totally renewed. Theold layout of Schiaparelli has now beenreplaced by a new one arranged, whenpossible, according to a chronologicaland topographic order. The collectioncomprises material that ranges from theprehistoric age down to the Age ofCopta, with several groups of steles,vases, amulets and bronze pieces of dif-ferent ages. The most remarkable piecesare some statues dating back to the ageof Amenofi III, the chariot of the 18thdynasty, the pillar of the tomb of Sety I,the cup of Fayence with square mouthand the belongings of the wet nurse ofthe daughter of Pharaoh Taharqa, thewoman portrait of Fayum, the collectionof fabrics belonging to the Copt Age andan important group of chalk moulds dat-ing of the end of the 19th century.

46

THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUMVIA DELLA COLONNA 36 - FLORENCE

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CENACOLO DI

SANTA APOLLONIA

THE CENACOLO OF SANT’APOLLONIAVIA XXVII APRILE 1 - FLORENCE

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The first Renaissance refectory inFlorence is the one belonging to theBenedictine nuns of Sant’Apollonia,created around 1445 in one of the mostflorid periods the convent. The end wallof the refectory (9.75x9.10 m) was dec-orated with frescoes, although thesewere never discovered due to the nuns'strict enclosure. The suppression of theconvent in 1860 revealed the existenceof only one fresco representing the LastSupper (the upper section had been

whitewashed), which was initiallyattributed to Paolo Uccello and then tothe real author Andrea del Castagno(1421-1457), who worked on it after hisreturn from Venice in 1444. Other threefrescoes were discovered above thisone, representing respectively theResurrection, Crucifixion and Entombmentof Christ. At the time of the restorationin 1952, the three frescoes wereremoved to be preserved, thus allowingthe recovery of the splendid sinopites.

CENACOLO

DI OGNISSANTI

THE CENACOLO OF GHIRLANDAIO IN THE CHURCH OF OGNISSANTIBORGOGNISSANTI 42 - FLORENCE

The large refectory of the church ofOgnissanti is located between the firstand second cloister of the old convent ofthe Umiliati (Humiliated). The room onthe opposite wall gives access to a splen-did stone door in pietra serena, with twobasins, built in 1480, on each side. Theniches are decorated with two frescoesreferring to water: Sarah at Jacob's pit andMoses who makes water gush from the rock,two 17th century works by GiuseppeRomei. The central fresco, which enti-rely covers the wall (8.10 x 4 m), is thework of Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494), who produced with this workone of the best examples of his art,

representing a serene yet dramatic epi-sode of the Last Supper: The apostles arepainted in the moment in which Jesusannounces that one of them will betrayhim. Following the requests of themonks who commissioned the painting,Ghirlandaio picked out a large numberof apparently decorative details, whichare in reality a precise symbolic referen-ce to the drama of the Passion andRedemption of Christ, as for instancethe evergreen plants, the flight of quails,the oranges, the cherries, the dove andthe peacock. By being a separate fresco,it can be compared to the style of thesinopite on the left wall.

4948

Andrea del CastagnoTHE LAST SUPPER

(Cenacolo of Santa Apollonia)

Domenico GhirlandaioCENACOLO

(Convent of Ognissanti)

51

Andrea del SartoTHE LAST SUPPER(Cenacolo of San Salvi)

PeruginoTHE LAST SUPPER(Cenacolo of Fuligno)

CENACOLO

DI SAN SALVI

Since 1981 some of the restored roomsof the former Vallombrosan convent of S.Salvi are the seat of the Museum of theCenacolo of Andrea del Sarto, named afterthe famous fresco painted by this artist(1486-1530) on one of the walls of therefectory. The work (5.25x8.71 m) wascompleted between 1526 and 1527 andspared by miracle during the Siege ofFlorence of 1530. It represents a particu-larly fine period of the art of Andrea, thathas left in this location other masterpiecesof his work. The fresco is placed under alarge arch containing painted medallions

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THE CENACOLO OF SAN SALVIVIA DI SAN SALVI 16 - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

CENACOLO

DI FULIGNO

The Cenacolo is situated in the formerconvent of the Sisters of Foligno, trans-formed into a "Conservatory for poor andhonest girls" in 1980 after the transfer ofthe nuns. The fresco (4.40x8 m) wasfound in 1845 and initially attributed toRaphael, although today's art critics agreethat the work is to be attributed to one ofthe pupils of Pietro Vannucci known as IlPerugino (1445/50-1523), who painted it

around 1493-96. Critics have also sug-gested that the work replaces a previousfresco of the same subject painted by Neridi Bicci (1419-1491). The fresco can beconsidered one of the most importantexamples of the Umbrian culture inFlorentine Renaissance. The Refectorypreserves also some frescoes by Bicci diLorenzo (1429) removed from otherparts of the convent.

THE CENACOLO OF FULIGNOVIA FAENZA 42 - FLORENCE

representing the Trinity and the four saintsprotectors of the Vallombrosan order.

This is not the only work of art pre-served in the museum, which displays in avast gallery in front of the Lavabo Room,important works by 16th century artists,like Giorgio Vasari, Ridolfo delGhirlandaio, Pontormo and Raffaellino delGarbo. The museum also exhibits somefragments of the funeral monument dedi-cated to S.Giovanni Gualberto, sculpturedfor Convent of Passignano by Benedettoda Rovezzano between 1507 and 1513.

CHIOSTRO

DELLO SCALZO

THE CLOISTER OF THE SCALZOVIA CAVOUR 89 - FLORENCE

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5352

Andrea del SartoTHE BAPTISM OF CHRIST

The Cloister of the Scalzo was part ofthe building designed for the Confraternityof St. John the Baptist, founded in 1376and called "dello Scalzo" because thecross-bearers in the Confraternity's pro-cessions was barefooted.

The Brotherhood was suppressed in1785 by Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine,who sold off their property with theexception of the cloister containing six-teen frescoes in chiaroscuro, showingepisodes of the Life of St. John the Baptist,painted by Andrea Del Sarto (1486-1530) (only two of the scenes werepainted by Franciabigio (1482-1525),while Andrea was in Paris in 1518).

Painted between 1514 and 1524, thefrescoes represent an extraordinaryexample of stylistic and technical per-fection in the art of a Master, whoplayed an important role in the complexartistic events of Florence at the begin-ning of the 16th century.

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PeruginoTHE CRUCIFIXION

PeruginoSAN BENEDETTO(detail)

PeruginoMADONNA(detail)

CROCEFISSIONE

DEL PERUGINO

The church of Santa Maria Maddalenade’ Pazzi, gives access through a crypt tothe Chapter House of the old Cistercianconvent, that was the original location ofthe monumental fresco of the Crucifixion,painted by Pietro Perugino in 1493-96and commissioned by Dionisio andGiovanna Pucci, members of two aristo-cratic Florentine families.

The decoration takes up a wholewall, divided by the ceiling vaults andthe painted architectural arch elements.The harmonious and luminous scenerycontributes to decreasing the emphasisof the drama represented by the scene,that reflects the typical serene and med-itative attitude of the artist.

The fresco portrays the Virgin Maryand John the Baptist, at the foot of thecross. The other personalities were cho-sen because they had a very specialmeaning for the monks living in thisconvent. Maddalena is the saint towhich the church was originally dedi-cated in 1257; St. Benedict is the fatherof western monachism, while Bernardde Clairvaux (represented in a whitegarment) is the famous theologian of theearly years of the Cistercian order. Thethree trees with slim trunks and thickfoliage behind the figure of St Bernardare perhaps a symbol of Trinity.

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THE CRUCIFIXION OF PERUGINOCHURCH OF SANTA MARIA MADDALENA DE’ PAZZI

BORGO PINTI 58 - FLORENCE

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GIARDINO

DI BOBOLI

THE BOBOLI GARDENSPIAZZA PITTI - FIRENZE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLECAFETERIAGUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOL CAN BE RESERVED AHEAD PH. 05529011

The Garden that extends from the hillbehind the Pitti Palace as far as PortaRomana, reached its current extensionand appearance, becoming one of thelargest and most elegant Italian style gar-dens, through several stages of enlarge-ment and restructuring work carried outat different times. The first works initial-ly affected the area that was closer to thepalace, after the building had been pur-chased by Cosimo I de’ Medici and by hiswife Eleonora di Toledo, who had chosenthis place for new grand ducal palace.The initial plan was drawn by NiccolòTribolo, although the works were com-pleted, after his death in 1550 by otherarchitects including also Giorgio Vasari(from 1554 to 1561) along withBartolomeo Ammannati and BernardoBuontalenti under the reign of Francis I,who succeeded to his father Cosimo.

The Medici and the Lorraine fami-lies continued to enrich and enlarge thegarden also in the 17th, 18th and 19thcenturies. Besides adding lovely mead-ows, avenues, small groves and beauti-ful panoramic views, they made thegarden more precious by includingextraordinary decorative complexes,thus forming an outdoor museum thatexhibited both Roman and 16th and17th century statues.

The first phase led to the creation ofan Amphitheatre adjoined to the hill

behind the palace. The early amphithe-atre, initially formed by "edges andevergreen meadows", was laterreplaced by a stone one decorated withstatutes based on Roman myths such asthe Fountain of the Ocean sculptured byGiambologna, then transferred toanother location within the same gar-den, the small Grotto of Madama, and theLarge Grotto, which was begun byVasari and ended by Ammannati andBuontalenti between 1583 and 1593.Despite the fact that it is currentlyundergoing complex restoration work(1998) due to the damages sufferedover centuries these statues continue tobe remarkable examples of Mannerismarchitecture and culture. Decoratedinternally and externally with stalatitesand originally equipped with waterplays and a luxuriant vegetation, thefountain is divided into three main sec-tions. The first one was frescoed to cre-ate the illusion of a natural grotto, thatis a natural refuge to allow shepherdsto protect themselves from wild ani-mals, and originally housed thePrisoners of Michelangelo, which weremoved to this location after they hadbecome part of the Medici collection(the original statues have now beenreplaced by copies). The rooms thatfollow exhibit valuable sculptures likeThe Bathing Venus of Giambologna andthe group of Paris and Hellen ofVincenzo de Rossi.

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Amphitheatre andthe Carciofo Fountain

59

The Ocean FountainGIARDINO

DI BOBOLI

Other fine works are also situated inthe area above the amphitheatre. This isthe location of the fountain known asthe Fountain of the “Fork” or Neptune'sfountain, named after the sculpture byStoldo Lorenzi located in the middle ofthe fountain that appears to be holdinga large trident. In the park we also findthe large statues of the Abundance, locat-ed on the top of the hill, started byGiambologna, to represent Giovanna ofAustria, the wife of Francis I. The stat-ue was actually ended in 1637 as alle-gorical figure.

Walking through the gardentowards Porta Romana, after the so-called Prato dell’Uccellare, we find theViottolone, a large avenue flanked bycypresses and statues that leads to theopen space of the Isolotto, begun byGiulio and Alfonso Parigi in 1618. Inthe centre of the space, you can admirethe fountain of the Ocean byGiambologna surrounded by otherthree sculptures representing the riversNile, Gange and Euphrates. All aroundthere are other statues based on classicand popular subjects (belonging to the17th and 18th centuries) like those thatshow groups of children playing tradi-tional games.

The House of Lorraine made furtheradditions in the 18th century, such asthe Kaffeehaus (1775), the Lemon House

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THE BOBOLI GARDENSPIAZZA PITTI - FIRENZE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLECAFETERIA

GUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOL CAN BE RESERVED AHEAD PH. 05529011

(1777-8), both built by Zanobi delRosso and the Palazzina della Meridianabegun in 1776 by Gaspero Paoletti. TheEgyptian Obelisk brought from Luxorwas placed in this location in 1789.

GIARDINO

DI CASTELLO

THE GARDEN OF CASTELLOVIA DI CASTELLO 44 - FLORENCE

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Today the garden of Castello isformed only by the section opened tothe public that is part of the homony-mous Medici villa, now seat of theAccademia della Crusca.

The large park can be rightly enoughconsidered a prototype of a 16th centu-ry Italian-style garden. It was begun in1537 by Cosimo I dei Medici and waspart of the general plan that aimed atembellishing the villa of Castello, inher-ited by his mother Maria Salviati. Thegeneral project was assigned to NiccolòTribolo, while the execution of the largehydraulic system that conveyed waterfrom the spring of Castellina to thenumerous fountains scattered aroundthe garden, was commissioned to Pieroda San Casciano.

The decorative elements of the gar-den aimed at exalting the peacemaker'srole of the ruling family and the impor-tance of the enlightened grand ducalgovernment. The vast majority of criticsconsider this plan a work of BenedettoVarchi. The most interesting element ofthis lavish and articulated decorativeitinerary – described by Vasari andnever completed – is represented, alongthe main axis of the Italian style gardenbehind the villa, by the fountain ofHercules and Antheus (by Tribolo andPierino da Vinci, completed with thefamous bronze statues of Bartolomeo

Ammannati) and the famous Grotto ofAnimals or of the Flood, which wasdesigned by Tribolo and originally ani-mated with spectacular water playsaimed at simulating a perfectly naturalgrotto. The fountain is decorated withpolychrome groups of animals, a sym-bol of the peace granted by Cosimo.The “Wild area” with beeches, oaks andcypresses forms the upper section of thepark. Here we find the large tanks-cis-tern decorated with the statue of theApennines or January, a bronze sculptureby Ammannati.

It is also worth visiting the garden ofmedicinal herbs and the extraordinary col-lection of oranges and lemons that is oneof the most important ones in the world.

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Villa di Castello

63

Villa della Petraia VILLA

DELLA PETRAIA

The Medici villa of Petraia forms,together with the Italian style gardenand the romantic park that surrounds it,a very interesting museum complex bothin terms of architectural decoration andbecause of the furniture it still preservesin its interior. The current layout wasarranged during the reign of the Savoy.

The old castle that already existed in1362 changed owners several times(Brunelleschi, Strozzi, Alessandra deiBardi, Salutati) and was finally acquiredby the Medici when they returned toFlorence in 1530. Transferred fromCosimo I to his son, CardinalFerdinando, in 1568, it was enlargedand transformed into a villa on initiativeof the latter who became Grand Dukeafter the death of his brother Francis I(1587). This general architectural lay-out, that typically reflects the style ofBuontalenti, owed to Davide Fortini,was later integrated with decorative ele-ments and wall paintings by its owners.The two cycles of frescoes that fullycover the walls of the courtyard belongin fact to the Medici period. The centralsection of first fresco, by Cosimo Daddi,commissioned by the wife ofFerdinando, Cristina of Lorraine, showsthe Deeds of Goffredo di Buglione during thesiege of Jerusalem. The other fresco com-missioned by Lorenzo de’ Medici toBaldassarre Franceschini named the"Volterrano", illustrates, in the space

below the two loggias, episodes from theMedici's life and can therefore be rightlyenough considered one of the most rep-resentative examples of Florentinepainting in the early 17th century. It wasagain Ferdinando who commissionedthe decoration of the Chapel on the firstfloor, attributed to Bernardino Poccetti.

The walls paintings in the chapel onthe first floor and in some of the roomswere instead executed during theLorraine period, although the palaceowes its present-day layout (iron andglass panel covering the courtyard, itstransformation into a large ball roomand the arrangement of the furniture)to the Savoy. On this occasion, theSavoy brought several fabrics and fur-niture decors from other residencesthey owned in Turin, Modena, Luccaand Parma.

Even the large garden surroundingthe villa bears trace of the historicalstratification of the building. The baselayout, clearly dating back to the late16th century, has been enriched by18th-19th century additions, such as theso-called “Piano della figurina”, deco-rated with the Fountain of Fiorenza(Niccolò Tribolo, Pierino da Vinci andGiambologna) and the English-stylepark on the northern side, created withthe typically romantic taste that charac-terised the first half of the 19th century.

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VILLA OF PETRAIAVIA DELLA PETRAIA 40 - FLORENCE

GUIDED TOURS TO THE VILLACAFETERIA

restored. The statues include extraordi-nary Renaissance masterpieces, com-missioned by the Florentine Guilds, likeSt. Mark of Donatello, The Disbelief of St.Thomas of Verrocchio, together with St.John the Baptist of Ghiberti, Sant’Eligioand St. Philip of Nanni di Banco. Thegroup also comprises the statues of St.Jacob, St. Peter and the Madonna of therose respectively attributed to Niccolò diPietro Lamberti, Bernardo Ciuffagniand Pietro di Giovanni Tedesco.

The museum has yet to be complet-ed. The statues that are still located onthe outside of the building are still wait-ing to be restored and replaced withcopies, like the others already displayedinside the museum.

MUSEO DI

ORSANMICHELE

THE MUSEUM OF ORSANMICHELEVIA ARTE DELLA LANA - FLORENCE

The fourteenth century building ofOrsanmichele, built on the spot wherethe oratory of San Michele in Orto oncestood as wheat warehouse, soon becamea representative and religious buildingthanks to the generosity of the Guilds,which decorated it between the 14th and16th century with extraordinary sculp-tures and paintings. Today, the wholebuilding is a museum on its own. Thetwo rooms above the church, on the firstand second floors, were reopened to thepublic in 1996 with the aim of exhibitingand preserving works that could nolonger be left on the building's façadeand of additionally displaying all theworks that had been explicitly commis-sioned for Orsanmichele and had beendisseminated due to various reasons.

The first floor currently exhibitseight of the fourteen statues or groups ofstatues, in bronze or marble, which onceadorned the niches dedicated to theGuilds on the outside of the building.The second floor displays the forty smallstone sculptures representing the Saintsand Prophets originally installed on thetop of the columns that divide the win-dows with three lights and the doors.

A great visual impact, inside the typ-ically Gothic setting, is offered by theexhibition of the large statues on a plat-form. These were originally located inthe external niches and have now been

6564

Lorenzo GhibertiST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

Attributed to Pietro di Giovanni TedescoMADONNA DELLA ROSA

Orsanmichele, the building

CITY MUSEUMS

STATE MUSEUMSSCIENCE MUSEUMSOTHER MUSEUMSMUSEUMS IN THE SURROUNDINGS

m u s e u m s a n d g a l l e r i e s

69

Palazzo VecchioPALAZZO

VECCHIO

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PALAZZO VECCHIOPIAZZA SIGNORIA - FLORENCE

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ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

Built at the turn between the 13thand 14th centuries as the seat of thePriors, the oldest part of PalazzoVecchio was originally designed byArnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302). Thelater additions of the 15th and above allof the 16th centuries changed the scaleof the rear part of the palace, withouthowever modifying the massive appear-ance of the huge blocks, projectinggallery and asymmetrical tower.

Initially, the seat of the Signoria wasprovisionally used by the Grand Ducalfamily until 1540 when Cosimo I de’Medici moved the residence to the newlybuilt Palazzo Pitti (it was at that time thatthe palace was referred to as “old”). Thetransformations applied by Vasari dateback to this period (1550-65). He sump-tuously redecorated the newly recon-structed interiors taking into account thenew role of the palace, which was to beused both as seat of the government andas official residence of the ruling family(the so-called “Monumental Quarters”).

The most important rooms of thepalace are illustrated in sequence. The firstentrance courtyard with white and gildedstucco work, redecorated with frescoes inthe 16th century, owes its elegant struc-ture to the second half of the 15th century.The courtyard opens on to the ancientArmoury now frequently used by theTown Council to organise exhibitions.

On the first floor we find thegrandiose Salone dei Cinquecento, a work byCronaca (1495), which was used for theassemblies of the General Council of thePeople, after the State reforms broughtabout by Girolamo Savonarola. The wallsof the hall, originally decorated byMichelangelo and Leonardo, owe theirpresent-day monumental appearance toVasari and his pupils and date back to thesecond half of the 16th century. The pan-elled ceiling, the frescoes on the walls, theUdienza (the raised section of the roomwith statues by Bandinelli and Caccini),the sculptures of De’ Rossi featuring theDeeds of Hercules contribute to the complexand rich symbolism and offer a precisehistorical view of the glorious past of theMedici family. The hall also exhibits theGenius of Victory by Michelangelo.

In contrast with the grandness of thishall, but equally sumptuous is the littleStudiolo of Francis I, a jewel ofMannerism art and sensitivity, wherethe prince retired to meditate and gazehis treasures (about 1570).

The visit can continue through therooms on the first floor, each dedicatedto a personality of the Medici family(Cosimo the Elder, Lorenzo, Leo X…),all appropriately frescoed.

On the second floor we find the"Quarter of the Elements" and the apart-

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First courtyard

Vasari and disciplesThe "WStudiolo" of Francis I

A. VerrocchioPUTTO WITH DOLPHIN

71

PALAZZO

VECCHIO

PALAZZO VECCHIOPIAZZA SIGNORIA - FIRENZE

BOOKSHOPCAFFETTERIAACCESSIBILE AI DISABILI

ments of Eleonora da Toledo, the wife ofCosimo I. Despite the rich overall deco-ration, it is worth admiring the smallchapel of the princess that was magnifi-cently decorated by Bronzino (1503-1572). The visit can continue throughthe official rooms, like the AudienceChamber and the Lily Chamber withsumptuous ceilings, decorations anddoors dating back to the 15th century.

The final section of the monumentalapartments preserves the LoeserCollection, donated to the Town ofFlorence by the American art criticCharles Loeser, who died in 1928. Thecollection includes paintings and sculp-tures of the Tuscan school ranging fromthe 14th to the 16th centuries (works byTino da Camaino, Berruguete, Rustici,Bronzino and Cellini).

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WOODEN MADONNA14th century Florentine artMUSEO

BARDINI

The museum is situated in a finebuilding refurbished by Stefano Bardiniat the end of the 18th century anddonated by its owner to the MunicipalAdministration of Florence in 1922.Bardini was a famous art dealer whocollected objects of different periods andof high quality. Even the building itselfis remarkable for its use of doors, win-dows and mouldings of old fragmentsoriginally belonging to ruined churchesand villas. The ceilings are magnificentexamples of Venetian and Tuscan wood-work ranging from the 15th to the 17thcenturies. The collection comprisessculptures, paintings, furniture pieces,ceramic pieces, tapestries but also frag-ments of the old centre of Florence, sal-vaged before its destruction. All theseitems are displayed on the ground andthe first floors according to a layout thatfully reflects the character of a typicallyprivate collection, with the touch of arather suggestive setting.

In addition to Roman sarcophagi, capi-tals, Roman and Gothic relief work, thereare also other remarkable examples likethe work of the Della Robbia brothers(15th and 16th century), works attributedto Donatello and to Nino or GiovanniPisano, in addition to the famous Charityby Tino di Camaino (1280 app.-1337).

The most outstanding painting of thecollection is perhaps St. Michael Archangel

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MUSEO BARDINIPIAZZA DE’ MOZZI 1 - FLORENCE

by Antonio Del Pollaiolo (1431-1498),although there are many other preciousworks among the collections of weapons,15th century polychrome stuccoes andwooden sculpture. The collection of oldmusical instruments is also worth a visit.

The second floor of the buildingexhibits the Corsi collection that com-prises some works from the 12th to the19th centuries, donated by Mrs.Carobbi, the widow of Corsi, in 1938.

At present the museum is closed forrestoration work.

MUSEO STORICO TOPOGRAFICO

"FIRENZE COM’ERA"

THE HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHICAL MUSEUM "FIRENZE COM’ERA"VIA DELL’ORIOLO 24 - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

75

The museum, located since 1956 inthe former convent of the OblateSisters, exhibits plans, paintings, etch-ings or prints that document the historyand the appearance of Florence from itsorigins down to the period in which thetown became capital of Italy. One of themost important and extraordinary doc-uments is the so-called “della Catena”plan, a perfect 19th reproduction of thelate 15th century original preserved inthe Friedrich Museum of Berlin. Theother sections exhibit oil and temperapaintings representing historical eventsand typical scenes of the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries.

It is worth stopping to take a closelook at the large lunettes by Giusto Utens(1599), dedicated to the main Medici vil-las, and at the very famous collection ofetchings by Giuseppe Zocchi (1744),dedicated to Florentine churches, palacesand villas. Also worth a visit are the etch-ings by Telemaco Signorini (1835-1901).

A section of the museum is reservedto the works of Giuseppe Poggi (1811-1901), the Florentine architect and townplanner, and to his drawings and projectsfor the enlargement and transformationof the town after 1865.

74

Giusto UtensFORTE BELVEDEREAND PALAZZO PITTI

Giusto UtensVILLA DI CASTELLO

77

Ottone RosaiSANTA MARIA DEL FIORERACCOLTA

"A. DELLA RAGIONE"

The collection owes its uniqueness tothe intelligence and knowledge of con-temporary artistic movements of the engi-neer Alberto Della Ragione, who donatedit to the Municipal Administration ofFlorence in 1970.

The exhibition provides a wide viewof the years 1930-45, thus presentingthe generation of artists who con-tributed to the total renewal of theItalian artistic culture in the yearsbetween the two world wars. The col-lection includes a series of paintings byRosai, with melancholic views ofFlorence; landscapes and still lives byDe Pisis and Mafai, in addition to someimportant works by Carrà, Morandi,Casorati, Campigli and Guttuso. TheAbstraction of Birolli or Emilio Vedovais also represented in the collection.

Important works of sculpture are alsopart of the collection, like the famousPaulette, a work of the early years ofLucio Fontana, a Horse by MarinoMarini and the portraits of Manzù.Altogether there are 240 interestingworks that could easily be the core of amunicipal museum of contemporary art,as in the original intentions of its founder.

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THE "ALBERTO DELLA RAGIONE" COLLECTION AND OTHER COLLECTIONSOF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY PIAZZA SIGNORIA 5 - FLORENCE

MUSEO E CHIOSTRI

DI S. MARIA NOVELLA

THE MUSEUM AND MONUMENTAL CLOISTERS OF SANTA MARIA NOVELLAPIAZZA SANTA MARIA NOVELLA - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

79

The monumental complex of thecloister, considered an extraordinaryexample of Italian Gothic architecture,was begun around 1340 by Fra’ Sistoand Fra’ Ristoro.

The first cloister on the right of thedoorway is the so-called Chiostro Verde(Green cloister) with strong yet harmo-nious proportions. It takes its namefrom the frescoes originally painted in"green clay" by many artists of early15th century including Paolo Uccello(1397-1475), one of the greatestFlorentine Renaissance masters, whopainted here some of his best works likethe Flood and the Sacrifice of Noah.

The cloister gives access to theRefectory (and from here to the LargeCloister decorated at the end of the 16thcentury) and to the Cappellone degliSpagnoli. In the 16th century this was thechapter house and was given this namebecause of meetings held in this locationby the Spanish followers of Eleonora daToledo, the wife of Cosimo I. This largesection of the building still preserves thecomplex frescoes by Andrea di Bonaiuto(mid-14th century), which exalt thework of the Dominicans, to whom thechurch belonged. The fresco represent-ing the Church militant features the cathe-dral in the background or rather theoriginal project of Arnolfo for theCathedral of Florence.

The Chiostro Verde also givesaccess to the Chiostrino dei Morti and theStrozzi Chapel, decorated with 14th cen-tury frescoes.

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Andrea di BonaiutoTHE CHURCH MILITANT

AND TRIUMPHANT

81

FIREPLACE TOOLS(Rinaldo Carnielo Gallery)

Andrea OrcagnaCRUCIFIXION (detail)(Romano Foundation)

FONDAZIONE ROMANO NEL

CENACOLO DI SANTO SPIRITO

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THE ROMANO FOUNDATIONIN THE CENACOLO OF SANTO SPIRITO

PIAZZA SANTO SPIRITO 29 - FLORENCE

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The entrance to the Foundation -originally the refectory of theAgostinians - is just at the side of thefront of the church of Santo Spirito, oneof the last works of Filippo Brunelleschi,who left it unfinished due to his death(1446). This large truss-vaulted roombelongs to the most ancient part of themonastery (14th century).

The end wall of the large refectory isdecorated with a large fresco attributedto Andrea Orcagna, representing theCrucifixion and a very deteriorated LastSupper in the lower section.

Since 1946, the room was chosen toexhibit the collection donated by theNeapolitan antique dealer, SalvatoreRomano, to the Municipal Administrationof Florence that comprises in particularsculptural works. There are also othervery valuable pieces like an Angel by Tinodi Camaino (1280 app.-1337), a Madonnaattributed to Jacopo della Quercia (1371app.-1430), architectural fragments of theso-called Altar of the Saint from Padua,attributed to Donatello, and Byzantineand pre-Roman works.

GALLERIA

RINALDO CARNIELO

The collection prevalently exhibitsmoulds belonging to the academicsculptor Rinaldo Carnielo, donated tothe Municipal Administration of

Florence after his death in 1957. Thegallery is housed in a building wherethere are also several studios of artists.

RINALDO CARNIELO GALLERYPIAZZA SAVONAROLA 3 - FLORENCE

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CAPPELLA

BRANCACCI

THE BRANCACCI CHAPEL - CHURCH OF S.MARIA DEL CARMINEPIAZZA DEL CARMINE - FLORENCE

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83

Built prior to 1386 at the end of theright wing of the church, the BrancacciChapel owes its well-deserved fame toits cycle of frescoes painted on the threewalls at various stages by Masolino,Masaccio and Filippino Lippi.

Though it was initially commis-sioned to Masolino around 1425 byFelice Brancacci, the FlorentineAmbassador in Egypt, the work alsobenefited from the collaboration of theyoung Masaccio, who carried on hisown for a long period. The frescoeswere not completed, perhaps because ofMasaccio's departure for Rome (wherehe would die in 1428), until sixty yearslater - between 1481 and 1485 - byFilippino Lippi.

The frescoed scenes, representingsome episodes of the Life of St. Peter andthe Original Sin, clearly show the diver-gent style of the three artists. The deli-cate and elegant figures of Masolino,typical of a late Gothic culture areclearly in contrast with the vigorous fig-ures of Masaccio, designed with the useof perspective and characterised bysuch a severe realism that they are con-sidered some of the most significantexamples of early FlorentineRenaissance painting (the Expulsion ofAdam and Eve and the Payment of theTribute Money, on the left wall are per-haps the most emblematic examples).

Filippino Lippi's contribution, visi-ble mainly on the right wall, appears tosubstantially counterbalance the depthof the scenes frescoed by Masaccio.

The recent restoration work hasreturned the original colours to the fres-coes that had been badly damaged bythe passing of the years and blackenedby the smoke of a fire that had brokenout in 1771, devastating the church.

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MasaccioEXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE

MasaccioTHE DEATH OF ANANIA (detail)

SCIENCE MUSEUMS

STATE MUSEUMSCITY MUSEUMSOTHER MUSEUMSMUSEUMS IN THE SURROUNDINGS

m u s e u m s a n d g a l l e r i e s

OTHER MUSEUMS

STATE MUSEUMSCITY MUSEUMSSCIENCE MUSEUMSMUSEUMS IN THE SURROUNDINGS

m u s e u m s a n d g a l l e r i e s

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Cathedral: interior The Cathedraland Giotto bell towerDUOMO E CAMPANILE

DI GIOTTO

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THE CATHEDRAL AND GIOTTO'S BELL TOWERPIAZZA DUOMO - FLORENCE

CATHEDRAL: ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

This typical Italian Gothic building,the Cathedral of Florence, is dedicatedto Santa Maria del Fiore. The churchwas designed by Arnolfo di Cambio(c1245-1302) who considerablyenlarged the existing religious struc-ture. Finished around 1367, theCathedral was completely covered bycoloured marbles like the earlierBaptistery, except for the facade thatremained unfinished and was terminat-ed only in the 19th century.

The project left unfinished also theDome, since in 1421 only the frame(polygonal base) had been erected. Twoarchitects, Lorenzo Ghiberti (1368-1445) and Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) won the competition although itwas the latter who actually built thedome, showing a great mastery of tech-nical knowledge, in 1436.

One of the most remarkable featuresof the outside of the building is the so-called Porta "della Mandorla" (north)(della mandorla = almond) that wasgiven this name because of the largeaureole around the figure of the Virginsculptured also by Nanni di Banco(1380/90-1421) among others.

Its interior preserves very importantworks of art: on the left side we find thefirst two detached frescoes showing the"condottieri" Giovanni Acuto and Niccolò daTolentino painted respectively by PaoloUccello in 1436 and by Andrea delCastagno in 1456. Paolo Uccello also fres-

coed the clock on the inside wall, showingfour vigorous heads of saints.

The many sculptures made specifi-cally for the cathedral (many of whichhave now been moved to the Museodell'Opera del Duomo, see relatedchapter) comprise also the Lunettes byLuca della Robbia above the doors ofthe Mass Sacristies. The large Pieta byMichelangelo (c.1553) has instead beenremoved and transferred to the Museodell'Opera del Duomo.

Most of the splendid stained glasswindows were made between 1434 and1455 to the designs of famous artistslike Donatello, Andrea del Castagnoand Paolo Uccello. The wooden inlayson the Sacristy's cupboards weredesigned by Brunelleschi and by otherartists, including Antonio del Pollaiolo.

The internal walls of the dome, whichhave recently been restored, were frescoedbetween 1572 and 1579 by Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574) and Federico Zuccari(c.1540-1609) who represented a largescene of the Final Judgement. The belltower by Giotto remains, together with thehuge dome one of the most striking viewsof the town. The famous painter, Giotto,was in fact also the architect of the projectfor the bell tower, although by the time ofhis death (1337) only the lower part hadbeen completed. The works continuedunder the direction of Andrea Pisano (c.1290-1349) and Francesco Talenti (not.1325-1369) who completed the project.

SCAVI DI

SANTA REPARATA

THE EXCAVATIONS OF SANTA REPARATAPIAZZA DUOMO - FLORENCE

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The Crypt of Santa Reparata

ing phase. One of the most importantfinding was the tomb of Brunelleschithat dates back to 1446, the year of theartist's death.

The remains of Santa Reparata pro-vide important information about theart, history and topography of the town.This was the old cathedral of Florenceuntil 1412, the year in which it wasreplaced with the building of SantaMaria del Fiore. Its oldest remains prob-ably the same level as the Roman city,that is at the same level of the Baptistery.

The excavations inside the cathedralwere started in 1965 with the aim ofrecovering as far as possible theremains of the original church. Theworks have highlighted the existence ofa very complex network of structuresand the presence of two previouschurches, built before Santa Reparata.

The first building dates back to about780. The beautiful parapet with woodenfigures corresponds to this nucleus. Thesecond transformation occurred duringthe Romanesque period, while the thirdand final transformation occurred in the13th century. Its floor level is only 90 cmbelow the present day one. The excava-tions have brought to light several pietraserena tombstones dating back to the 15thcentury that are still visible today. Stillvisible are also the mosaics belonging tothe first floor of the 8th century decoratedwith polychrome geometric patterns.

The walls show fragments of fres-coes carried out during the many build-

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BATTISTERO

The Baptistery is one of the oldestbuildings in Florence although it isimpossible to exactly determine theperiod. In the Middle Ages, it wasbelieved to be a Roman pagan templededicated to Mars.

Its balanced geometrical layout anddecorations in white and green marblefrom Prato originates from the harmoniousintegration of Romaneque andPaleochristian architecture developed dur-ing between the 11th and 13th centuries.

The external sculptures and basre-liefs above the doors and on the doorsthemselves are the most importantworks ever made in Tuscany. The gild-ed bronze doors were made respective-ly by Andrea Pisano in 1336 (the doornow facing south) and by LorenzoGhiberti in 1427 and in 1452 (the twodoors facing to the north and east). Thelatter door is known with the name ofGate of "Paradise" and represents oneof the best artistic results ever achievedby the artist, who combines therhythms of the late Gothic period to anewly learnt classical language. Theoriginal gate has now been removed forrestoration and replaced with a copy.Some of the restored panels are exhibit-ed in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.

The marble sculptures above thedoors were sculptured by Francesco

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BAPTISTERYPIAZZA SAN GIOVANNI - FLORENCE BATTISTERO

Rustici (1474-1554) (Preaching of theBaptist) and Vincenzo Danti (1530-1576) (Beheading of the Baptist) and byAndrea Sansovino (the Baptism of Christ,which is a copy, since the original workwill be exhibited in a museum).

In addition to the inlaid floor (end of12th century and beginning of 13th cen-tury), the interior displays some largemosaics on the apse and ceiling. All themosaics have a gilded background andwere made between 1266 and thebeginning of the 14th century byByzantine artists from Venice, with thecollaboration of vigorous Tuscans likeMeliore, Coppo di Marcovaldo andabove all Cimabue (rec. 1272-1302),the master of Giotto.

Other works of sculpture includethe tomb of Giovanni XXIII, the Anti-Pope died in Florence in 1426 that wasdesigned by Donatello and Michelozzo.The beautiful and ascetic woodenMagdalene sculptured by Donatello andoriginally exhibited in the Baptistery iscurrently displayed in the Museodell’Opera del Duomo.

MUSEO DELL’OPERA

DEL DUOMO

THE MUSEUM OF THE OPERA DEL DUOMOPIAZZA DUOMO 9 - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOP

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MichelangeloPIETÁ

The present museum was founded in1891 and has continued to receive allthe works that were removed and con-tinue to be removed (to grant theirpreservation) from S. Maria del Fioreand from the Baptistery. The collectionis therefore the best guide to the sever-al changes that have occurred inFlorentine official sculpture originatingwith the building of the cathedral andextending over the centuries. The vastmajority of sculptures preserved in theMuseum are those that Arnolfo hadchosen for the façade, which was onlypartially completed while the architectwas still living. The partially erectedfaçade remained in this condition until1587, when the Grand Duke, followingthe suggestions of the architectBernardo Buontalenti, decided toreplace it with a more modern look, inaccordance with the general plans forthe renewal of the town. Despite theseveral projects and competitions thatsaw the participation of famous archi-tects of several ages, the façade wascompleted only in 1887 by De Fabris,who gave it a completely differentappearance as compared to the originalproject by Arnolfo. As a result of thisremake, it was no longer possible toreinstall the statues that are howeverstill preserved in the museum.

In addition to the sculptures ofArnolfo, the museum exhibits also

works of the 14th century removedfrom the bell tower and sculptured byAndrea Pisano (1290-1349) and by hispupils and those from the so-called“Porta della Mandorla” located on theleft side of the cathedral.

The sculptures of Nanni di Banco(1380/90-1421) and of Donatello (1386-1466), originally made for the bell towerand the church, can be considered master-pieces of 15th century sculpture, like thetwo large Cantorie by Luca della Robbia(1400- 1482) and Donatello removedfrom the cathedral's interior. Otherimportant works have been moved to themuseum recently, like the Magdalene, awooden sculpture by Donatello, originallyplaced in the Baptistry and the Pietà byMichelangelo, which was removed fromthe cathedral in 1980.

The collection also comprises other16th and 17th works by Tuscan artists,which shows the importance attributedto the finishing of Santa Maria delFiore over the centuries.

An independent room exhibits a col-lection of working tools and materials,recovered during the restoration worksof the Cathedral and the Dome. Thismanage to effectively evoke the com-mitment and technical ability of theworkers who collaborated to the projectof Brunelleschi.

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Andrea OrcagnaTHE TRIUMPH OF DEATH (detail)

Unknown artist of the 14th centuryBUST OF BEATA UMILIANA

MUSEO DELL’OPERA

DI S. CROCE

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THE MUSEUM OF THE OPERA DI SANTA CROCEPIAZZA SANTA CROCE - FLORENCE

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

This museum is located next to thechurch of Santa Croce, one of the mostextraordinary examples of Italian Gothicarchitecture with 14th century paintings,at a short distance of the famous Cappelladei Pazzi (around 1430) built byBrunelleschi. The museum has beenrecently reopened after the very seriousdamage suffered during the flood of 1966.The museum exhibits several importantFlorentine works moved to this locationfrom the church and the adjoining clois-ters. The Refectory displays the largeCrucifix by Cimabue (active 1272-1302)that was seriously damaged in 1966 andonly partially restored. Despite its mutila-tion, the work confirms the high artisticlevel acquired by an artist who can berightly enough considered the father ofWestern painting.

Detached frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi(1290 ca-1366) and Orcagna (14th centu-ry), discovered under the 16th centurywhitewash of the church, are displayed inthe adjoining rooms, together with a seriesof important sculptures, featuring in par-ticular some glazed terracottas from theDella Robbia studio and a remake of thetomb of Gastone della Torre di Tino daCamaino (1280 ca-1337). One of the mostimportant works is undoubtedly the largegilded bronze statue featuring S. Lodovico diTolosa, made by Donatello in 1423 to befitted in one of the niches of Orsanmicheleand commissioned by the Guelphs.

MUSEO

DEL BIGALLO

THE MUSEUM OF BIGALLOPIAZZA SAN GIOVANNI 1 - FLORENCE

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Disciples of Bernardo DaddiA FRESCO OF THE MADONNA

DELLA MISERICORDIA (about 1342)

The Loggia of Bigallo, built in themid 14th century for the Compagniadella Misericordia together with theneighbouring oratory, became in 1425the seat of the Compagnia del Bigallo,named after the hospital it directed atSanta Maria a Fonteviva that wasknown as Hospital of Bigallo.

The works directly purchased by theBrotherhood or donated to it, disperseddue to several vicissitudes, were reunit-ed in this museum in 1904. The collec-tion, reorganised in 1976, comprisesboth religious and historical works thatoffer us further evidence on the life ofthe Brotherhood between the 14th and16th centuries. The most remarkablepieces are the Crucifix of the “Master ofBigallo”, the works of Bernardo Daddiand his pupils and those of Niccolò diPietro Gerini.

In addition to paintings, the collec-tion displays also some important sculp-tures like those of Alberto Arnoldi (mid14th century) who also sculptured theniches and loggia.

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Domenico GhirlandaioTHE ADORATION OF THE MAGIGALLERIA SPEDALE

DEGLI INNOCENTI

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THE GALLERY OF THE HOSPITAL OF INNOCENTSPIAZZA SS. ANNUNZIATA 12 - FLORENCE

POSSIBILITY OF RESERVING GUIDED TOURSPHONING 0552491708

The Gallery is arranged in one of themost famous and important architectur-al complexes of the early Florentine15th century, that was commissionedand financed by the Wool Guild andbuilt by Filippo Brunelleschi. The"Hospital" was originally meant to raiseabandoned children and teach themsome useful trade to enable them tomake their way in life. The refectory,cloisters, dormitories, infirmary, nurses'rooms and porticoes were purposelybalanced by Brunelleschi to create aharmonious and rational hospital archi-tecture. Later, they were enlarged anddecorated with frescoes, thus docu-menting the on-going activities of theinstitution and the favours of the reign-ing dynasty of the Medici.

The Gallery has been arranged inthe loggia above the cloister and in theformer dayroom of the children abovethe main portico. It consists of fineworks that represent only a small sec-tion of the rich collections put togetherover the centuries by the Hospitalthrough gifts, bequests, loans or workscommissioned by the institution itself.Although the most important works ofthe collection (Della Robbia, BeatoAngelico, Vasari, Giambologna), weredispersed in the 19th century, the col-lection still preserves outstanding panelpaintings, detached frescoes, furniturepieces, decorations and a series of pre-

cious illuminated manuscripts datingback to the 14th and 15th centuries,which are considered some of the finestpreserved in Florence. The best paint-ings include The Adoration of the Magi byDomenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494)made for the Hospital church. Amongsplendid and rich colours, the paintingportrays some historical personalities(merchants of the Guild of Silk andtheir servants) connected with the lifeof the Hospital, worshipping the Child.

In addition to some fine "goldground" paintings, the Gallery alsoexhibits a Madonna with Child attributedto the young Botticelli (1445-1510), stillunder the influence of his masterFilippo Lippi; one of the most attractiveglazed terracottas by Luca dellaRobbia; an altar piece by Piero diCosimo (1461/62-1521) also made forthe Hospital's church and a typicalMadonna degli Innocenti of the school ofGranacci (1469-1543), where theMadonna is seen protecting the chil-dren in front of the Hospital's portico.

MUSEO

HORNE

THE HORNE MUSEUMVIA DEI BENCI 6 - FLORENCE

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119

The Horne Museum takes its namefrom the English collector Herbert P.Horne (1864-1916) who donated hispalace and collections of a lifetime tothe Italian State, together with thepalace where he had collected them.This building had belonged to theAlberti and later to the Corsi familywho gave it its present day appear-ance at the end of the 15th century,when it was probably restructured bySimone del Pollaiuolo, known as IlCronaca, who created the elegantexternal layout and the internal yetbalanced courtyard.

The present layout reflects itsowner's taste (Horne was a man of let-ters, an architect and a very valuablecritic). Horne moved to Florence atthe end of the 19th century to studyItalian Renaissance. He took a specialinterest in art, furniture, ornamentaland useful household objects belong-ing in particular to the typicalFlorentine home he wished to recreatefor himself. The result is a large andlavish collection arranged that aims atpreserving the character of a privatehome through the furniture pieces andhousehold objects.

Particularly interesting are the superbdomestic objects that include originalcutlery in silver and ivory, needles, mir-ror holders, leather boxes and firedogs.

Even the collection of paintings isinteresting, since it comprises an impres-sive group of 14th century Florentineand Siennese paintings, in addition toother works by artists of the 14th and15th century. The layout clearly reflectsthe taste and sensitivity of the ownerwho was a great scholar of Botticelli.The most precious piece is the paintingrepresenting St. Stephen by Giotto.

The sculptures include works byDesiderio da Settignano, Giambolognaand the Angels in Glory by Bernini.

The vast majority of furniture piecescontains fine examples of Italian ceram-ics ranging from the 14th to the 17thcenturies, produced in the Manufactoryof Orvieto, Cafaggiolo and Urbino.

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GiottoSANTO STEFANO

15th century Florentine SchoolA WOMAN'S BUST

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The CavalcadeThe Islamic Cavalcade (detail)

The buildingof the Stibbert Museum

MUSEO

STIBBERT

120

THE STIBBERT MUSEUMVIA STIBBERT 26 - FLORENCE

ALMOST ENTIRELY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOP

CAFFETTERIA

Federico Stibbert (1838-1906), thecollector who lived in the villa on thehill of Montughi, belonged to therefined world of writers and men of let-ters, English art amateurs and otherswho entered the life of Florence duringthe 19th century. When the originalvilla became too small for the collec-tions that Stibbert kept with great pas-sion, probably already thinking of a“museum”, various additions weremade by famous artists like the archi-tect Giuseppe Poggi, the painterGaetano Bianchi, the sculptorPassaglia, who contributed to the pre-sent day appearance of one of the mostprecious examples of 19th centurymuseums. Even the vast park surround-ing the villa was reorganised with a newfinal arrangement that renders it one ofthe most beautiful gardens in Florence.

In 1906 the collection passed to theMunicipal Administration. Today, themuseum comprises 10 rooms to exhibitthe wide-ranging collections ofStibbert, often from the most varyingorigins. The furniture itself includesvery valuable pieces of furniture likemany chests dating back to the 15thcentury, others of Lombard origin fromthe 18th century, in addition to anextraordinary table in malachite origi-nating from Demidoff. One of the mosttypical aspects of the villa is that mostof the wall coverings are in leather.

The rooms crowded with very sump-tuous objects also display several paint-ings, again reflecting the taste of a col-lector who did not seem to appreciate theprimitives and preferred to them Dutchpainting and still lives. The museum alsoincludes a very lavish group of portraitsbelonging to different ages.

Another important group of works isrepresented by the porcelains andmajolicas, produced in the most impor-tant Italian and foreign manufactories.This museum however owes its reputa-tion to its collection of arms and suits ofarmours that comprises an incrediblenumber of varying and rare piecesranging from the 15th to the 17th cen-turies. The vast majority of arms areEuropean, although there are alsoOriental, Persian, Indian and Islamicexamples. A particularly suggestiveview is offered by the parade of horsesand riders fully equipped to representthe Italian, German and Islamic armsand suits of armours belonging to the16th and 17th centuries.

The museum also displays a veryimportant group of Japanese arms, withdozens of suits of arms and hundreds ofswords, which constitutes the largestcollection of this kind outside of Japan.

PALAZZO

MEDICI RICCARDI

THE MEDICI RICCARDI PALACEVIA CAVOUR 1 - FLORENCE

BOOKSHOP

123

Towards 1444 Cosimo the Eldest,the patriarch of the Medici family, com-missioned to Michelozzo a palace to bebuilt in via Larga (now via Cavour),close to the church of San Lorenzo: thepalace is the first Renaissance buildingerected in Florence. Characterised byclearly delineated and rusticated floorsand a huge cornice crowning theroofline, the palace stands out for thearched windows arranged along itsfront and the partially closed loggia onthe corner of the building. Two asym-metrical doors led to the typical fifteenthcentury courtyard, built following mod-els of Brunelleschi and decorated withgraffiti, originally opened on to a typi-cally Renaissance garden. By 1460 thepalace was complete (it was also the res-idence of Lorenzo the Magnificent),although in 1517 the original buildingwas altered by closing the loggia andadding the two "kneeling" windowsaccording to Michelangelo's project.

After the transfer of Cosimo de’Medici to Palazzo Vecchio in 1540, afterhe became Grand Duke, the palace con-tinued to be inhabited by the lessermembers of the family until 1659, whenFerdinando II sold it to the Riccardimarquises. It was at this time that thepalace layout was enlarged and signifi-cantly altered. The most importantworks consisted in the large hall deco-rated with the frescoes of Luca Giordano

that is one of the most significant exam-ples of Baroque architecture in Florence,and in the new entrance staircase builtby the architect Foggini. Baroque deco-rations were added also to the courtyardthrough the addition of old marblesbelonging to the Riccardi collection.

Perhaps the most important sectionof the palace is still today the Chapelfrescoed in 1459 by Benozzo Gozzolirepresenting the Procession of the Magi.The frescoes explicitly referred to thetrain of the Concilium that met inFlorence in 1439. As a matter of factmany of the personalities portrayed arewealthy protagonists of the time andmembers of the Medici family.

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B. GozzoliTHE MAGI ON THE WAY

TO BETHLEHEM

125

Michelangelo BuonarrotiMODEL OF A RIVER GOD

Michelangelo BuonarrotiMADONNA DELLA SCALA(marble - about 1490)

CASA

BUONARROTI

124

CASA BUONARROTIVIA GHIBELLINA 70 - FLORENCE

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEGUIDED TOURS AVAILABLE

BOOKSHOP

Museum and monument. A place toremember and celebrate the greatness ofMichelangelo and at the same time apompous and Baroque exhibition of the artcollections of the family. Casa Buonarrotiis one of the most extraordinary Florentinemuseums. It offers in the first place thepossibility of admiring the two famousmarble relief pieces, sculptured byMichelangelo in his early years: theMadonna della Scala, which clearly showsthe passion of this artist for Donatello andthe Battle of the Centaurs that echoes theadmiration of the artist for classic art.

It is equally suggestive to enter this 17thcentury palace and connect the works byMichelangelo to the centuries of history ofthe Buonarroti family, who greatly con-tributed to enlarge the building and embell-ish it with the aim of preserving preciousobjects from different cultures (that includethe recent collection of the autograph draw-ings by Michelangelo consisting of 205 pre-cious sketches and the equally importantArchive and Library). The buildingexhibits rare art collections comprisingpaintings, sculptures, majolicas and archae-ological findings that are now arranged onthe two floors of the Museum. A speciallyequipped room displays on rotation a smallnumber of the drawings of Michelangelo.

The importance of Casa Buonarrotigoes far beyond the celebration of anextraordinary personality likeMichelangelo, although it displays manyof his works and documents that have

increased also thanks to the donationsand pieces transferred here from otherFlorentine museums. The works exhibit-ed in these rooms comprise: The Crucifixof Santo Spirito, which critics tend toattribute to Michelangelo, the two 16thcentury Noli me tangere based on the lostcartoon, the Wooden model for the façade ofSan Lorenzo and the River Divinity, whichwas used to prepare one of the sculp-tures made for the New Sacristy.

The idea of creating a sumptuous build-ing to celebrate the glory of the family wasan initiative of Michelangelo Buonarroti theyounger, an extraordinary man of lettersand promoter of cultural activities, whoemployed for the works of the building, ofthe “Gallery” and of the three subsequentrooms, the most renown artists of Florencesuch as Empoli, Passignano, ArtemisiaGentileschi, Pietro da Cortona, Giovanni daSan Giovanni, Francesco Furini and theyoung Jacopo Vignali. These sumptuousrooms were chosen by Michelangelo theyounger to exhibit the most precious objectsof his collection, including the small cartoonof Michelangelo showing a Madonna withChild and the wooden panel representingsome episodes of the Life of St. Nicholas, amasterpiece by Giovanni di Francesco, adisciple of Domenico Veneziano.

It is also useful to remember that themuseum organises every year exhibitionson several aspects of the life and art ofMichelangelo and on the cultural andartistic heritage of Casa Buonarroti.

CASA

GUIDI

THE GUIDI HOUSEPIAZZA SAN FELICE 8 - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

127

The Guidi House, as we see it today,has the same number of rooms and thesame layout of the flat rented in 1847 bythe couple Robert Browning andElizabeth Barret Browning, the famousEnglish poets who lived in this house forseveral years. Elizabeth died in it in1861. It took two years to the Browningsto furnish the house. Only one or twopieces – and in particular the gilded mir-ror of the dining room – are valuableobjects. The vast majority of paintingsand of the furniture pieces was pur-chased by Florentine second-hand deal-ers, as the couple laid a strong emphasison simplicity and functionality.

In restoring their property, theLandmark Trust and Eton College haveattempted to preserve the originalatmosphere and avoid transforming itinto a museum. The house currentlyexhibits paintings and furniture piecesthat belonged both to the Barrett andBrowning, which have been generouslydonated to the Guidi House. As awhole, the furniture is a typical exampleof 19th century style. The walls andceilings of the dining room and of themain bedroom and the ceiling of thepoet's studio have been restored withthe original colours of the time. Alldoors and chimney places are original.

After the death of Elizabeth, theMunicipal Administration commemorat-

ed her with an inscription hung over thedoor (composed by Niccolò Tommaseo)that acknowledges her ability to create agold ring joining Italy and England.

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The hall

CASA

SIVIERO

CASA SIVIEROLUNGARNO SERRISTORI1/3 - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

Rodolfo Siviero donated the worksof art he had passionately collected dur-ing his whole life to the RegionalAdministration of Tuscany after hisdeath. The rooms of Casa Siviero, opento the public, take up the ground floorin a beautiful palace built by Poggiwhere Siviero lived for several years,situated along Lungarno Serristori.

As passionate collector and well-read scholar, Siviero managed to collectand come into possession of a large col-lection of works of art that ranges fromthe ancient centuries to the modernyears and includes some wood statuesof the 14th century, paintings on gildedbackgrounds, small bronze statues, ter-racottas, ancient shrines and extraordi-nary furniture pieces. The house, nowtransformed into a museum, fullyreflects the personality of its owner andof the art collector, like the other hous-es-museums of the town that displaybeautiful art collections.

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CASA

DI DANTE

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THE HOUSE OF DANTEVIA SANTA MARGHERITA 1 - FLORENCE

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The core of medieval Florence andmore specifically the area between thechurch of S. Martino and Piazza deiDonati, was the 13th century locationof the houses of the Alighieri family, asreported in many old documents. At thebeginning of the 20th century, after sev-eral studies and researches, theMunicipal Administration ordered thebuilding of a house to celebrate theplace of birth of Dante. Today, thebuilding is the seat of the House-Museum of Dante, which was reopenedto the public on June 1, 1994. Themuseum is arranged on three floorsaccording to the three most importantstages in his life.

The first floor displays a series ofdocuments on some of the aspects of13th century Florence and on the youthof Dante, on his christening in the“beautiful San Giovanni” (theBaptistery of S. Maria del Fiore), on hispublic life, on his election in the officeof prior of the town and on his partici-pation in political and military struggles(the plastic model representing theBattle of Campaldino and the reproduc-tions of the weapons used at the timeare very interesting).

The second floor exhibits documentsrelating to his painful exile of 1301, theyear of his condemnation. After visitingseveral cities (Forlì, Verona and Bologna),

the poet decided to spend his last years atRavenna where we would die (1321) inthe home of Guido da Polenta.

The third floor offers a collection ofdocuments concerning the iconographyand fortune of Dante over the centuries,which are represented through excellentreproductions of works of art painted byimportant artists, ranging from the 14thcentury to the present-day.Reproductions include works by artistslike Giotto, Beato Angelico, Andrea delCastagno, Ghirlandaio, Luca Signorelli,Raphael and Michelangelo.

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The Church facade LA CERTOSA

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THE CERTOSAGALLUZZO - FLORENCE

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The Certosa raises on the summit of ahill to the south of Florence. In the pastit was one most powerful monasteries inEurope and exhibited, until Napoleon'sspoliation, 500 works of art. The build-ing was erected by Niccolò Acciaioli, apowerful Florentine citizen who com-missioned it in 1341 with the aim of cre-ating both a religious centre and a struc-ture to educate the young ones. Themonastery faces Palazzo Acciaioli, abuilding with battlements where theyouth of Florence was instructed inhuman sciences. In the past, the Certosawas famous for its lavish library.

One of the most important sites ofthe monastery is the church of SanLorenzo, characterised by a typicallyMannerist architecture and richly deco-rated with frescoes, paintings, a sump-tuous marble altar of the 16th centuryand an ancient crypt with many tombs,mainly of the Acciaioli family. Thechurch opens on to a large Renaissancecloister, decorated with a large well andby terracottas by Andrea and Giovannidella Robbia (15th and 16th centuries).The cells of the monks, some of whichare open to the public, overlook thiscloister. Each cell consists in a bedroomand a room for praying, that are fur-nished with very essential furniturepieces, besides having a small secludedgarden. This cloister gives access to theso-called Chiostro dei Conversi, a small

structure formed by two superimposedloggias that lead into the refectory.

The large cloister originally pre-served the five lunettes painted byPontormo between 1522 and 1525, rep-resenting episodes from Christ'sPassion. The lunettes were removedbecause they were badly damaged andare now exhibited together with a richart collection of works from the 14th tothe 18th century in the picture galleryof the monastery.

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Marino MariniSELF PORTRAIT

(polychrome chalk- 1942)

View of the ground floorof the museum

Marino MariniDANCER

(polychrome chalk - 1953) MUSEO

MARINO MARINI

THE MARINO MARINI MUSEUM – MARINI SAN PANCRAZIO FOUNDATIONPIAZZA DI SAN PANCRAZIO - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBRAILLE GUIDES OF THE MUSEUM AVAILABLEGUIDED TOURS - BOOKSHOP

The Marino Marini Museum, in theheart of the historical centre of Florence,between via della Vigna Nuova andpiazza Santa Maria Novella, is housedin the ancient church of S.Pancrazio,founded before 1000, deconsacrated in1809 and used for several activities forover one century. The museum wasinaugurated in 1988 after the extensiverestoration work directed by the archi-tects Bruno Sacchi and Lorenzo Papi.

The Museum contains 180 works byMarino Marini (1901-1980) given bythe sculptor and his wife Marina at dif-ferent times of his life. The collectionincludes sculptures, drawings and etch-ings. Pieces are arranged by subjectrather than by chronological order. Theaim is to use themes as modes ratherthan focus on iconographical subjects.The core of the exhibition is the impos-ing equestrian group from The Hague(1957-58) placed in the centre of the oldliturgical space and immersed in thelight of the large apse.

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Fratelli AlinariThe Alinari building, the entrancein via Nazionale 8 (early 20th century)

The Fratelli Alinari Museum ofHistory of Photography was inaugurat-ed in 1985. Unique in its kind in Italyand one of the fourteen museums in thewhole world, today this collection is theonly national institution devoted exclu-sively to photographic exhibitions. Itpreserves about 350,000 old positives –vintage prints – printed on albumin, bro-mide, salt paper, calotypes, daguer-rotypes, ambertypes and stereoscopies.The museum exhibits the Mallandrini,Palazzoli, Zannier and Gabba "collec-tions", in addition to some of the worksof the most famous photographers of thenineteenth and twentieth centuries likeAlinari, Anderson, Nunes Vais, Primoli,Beato, Ponti, Naya, Wulz, Mollino,Peretti Griva, Baravalle, Balocchi – toquote some of the most famous Italianartists – and of foreign artists like MacPherson, Sommer, Bernoud, Graham,Rive, Flacheron, Von Gloeden,Robertson, Fenton, Bourne, Brandt.

The Museum also claims importantcollections of cameras, lenses and oldphotographic objects that include anextraordinary selection of photographicalbums and publicity gadgets both fromItaly and abroad.

The museum aims both at preservingand exhibiting. Since 1985, it has in factbeing planning a series of exhibitionstargeted to three main themes: history of

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THE FRATELLI ALINARI MUSEUMOF HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

LARGO F.LLI ALINARI - FIRENZEMUSEO DI STORIA DELLA

FOTOGRAFIA F.LLI ALINARI

photography, semiology and mono-graphs on contemporary artists. In co-operation with the Alinari Archives, theMuseum has organised most of theseexhibitions, also welcoming othersthanks to its close contacts with similarnational and international institutions,like the Fortuny Palace of Venice, theMuseum of Orsay, the French Societyof Photography, the National Library ofParis, the Royal Archives of Windsor,the Corcoran Gallery of Art and theSmithsonian Institution of Washington,the Public Library of New York and theGulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon.

SINAGOGA DI FIRENZE

MUSEO DI STORIA E ARTE EBRAICA

THE SYNAGOGUE OF FLORENCE AND THE MUSEUMOF HEBRAIC HISTORY AND ARTVIA FARINI 4 - FLORENCE

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The first plans for the erection of aSynagogue for the Florentine Jew com-munity, which was already active at thebeginning of the 15th century, dateback to the end of 1847, although thebuilding was actually erected by thearchitects Falcini, Treves and Micheli,between the eighties and nineties of thesame century in the eclectic style thattypically characterised the time with aprevalence of Arabic elements.

These elements are particularly evidenton the facade, covered with white andpink marble slabs, and on the three archedentrances. Even the two mullioned win-dows are influenced by Byzantine andRomanesque and Gothic art.

The area used for religious servicesis extremely suggestive and sumptuousdue to its rich decorations. It is delimit-ed on three sides by an ambulatoryframed by Moresque arches and sup-ports the women's gallery. The fourthside is taken up by a semicircular apsewith an Aron. The characteristic orna-ments of the interior, made by the artistGiovanni Panti from Perugia, whobrightened with purple red the red andblue arabesques of the walls, were high-ly and justly appreciated at the time thetemple was inaugurated.

The Museum of Hebraic Art andCulture was founded in 1981 on initia-

tive on the “Friends of the HebraicMuseum of Florence”. Arranged in thefirst floor rooms of the Synagogue, themuseum documents the history of theJew community in Florence and its rela-tion with the town over the centuries. Asmall photographic exhibition shows themost important Florentine Jewish sitesthrough a reproduction of the Mapdrawn by Buonsignori and the images ofthe Old Ghetto (rebuilt with the aid ofwooden model), in order to offer a viewof the historical centre of the town(where the Ghetto was located) prior tothe 19th century devastation.

A collection of documents and preciousreligious ornaments help visitors to under-stand the rituals of the Jewish community.

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Ner Tamid (of the sameperiod of the Synagogue)

Atarà(Venice 1751)

Front viewof the Synagogue

Rimmonìn(Venice 1751)

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GiottoMADONNA ON A THRONE WITH ANGELS(tempera on a wooden board, 1295-1300)

MUSEO DIOCESANO

S. STEFANO AL PONTE

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THE DIOCESAN MUSEUM OF SANTO STEFANO AL PONTEPIAZZA SANTO STEFANO AL PONTE VECCHIO 5 - FLORENCE

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The Museum exhibits works of arttaken from other churches in townand in the territory of the diocese ofFlorence, which can no longer be pre-served in the original churches forsafety reasons. The museum wasopened only in 1996 after longrestoration works that were necessaryto rebuilt the rooms after the explo-sion of via dei Georgofili in 1993. Theworks of art had already been collect-ed and made accessible only to schol-ars for over then years in the diocesanwarehouses.

The restoration plan, which waspossible thanks to the contribution ofthe Regional Administration ofTuscany, has implied building thenecessary systems and adding value,thanks to a new layout, not only tothe exhibited works, but also to thechurch, dedicated to Santo Stefanoand Santa Cecilia. This buildingalready existed in 1116, although itsRomanesque facade had been built atdifferent stages starting from thelower section (1233). The interior ofthe church, restructured in the 17thcentury by the architect FerdinandoTacca still preserves a magnificentand elegant Manneristic staircase,which is even earlier than the pres-bytery, designed by BernardoBuontalenti (1574) and transferredfrom the church of Santa Trinita.

The museum is arranged on threedifferent levels and gives access to asmall cloister with a Renaissance well,where the cells of the monks opened.This was the seat of the Agostiniansfrom the congregation of Lecceto fromthe 16th to the 18th centuries.

The exhibition highlights some extra-ordinary masterpieces of Italian art likethe Madonna by Giotto that was original-ly located in the church of San Giorgioalla Costa, The Adoration of the Magi byPaolo Uccello and St. Julian by Masolino;besides displaying a well-assorted andprecious series of liturgical objects andvestments, which includes also a veryexpressive polychrome plastic.

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The chemical laboratory tableof Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Dukeof Tuscany. 18th century

The objective lensof Galileo

Miniated sun dials.18th century

MUSEO DI STORIA

DELLA SCIENZA

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THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY OF SCIENCEPIAZZA DEI GIUDICI 1 - FLORENCE

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FOR SCHOOL BY PHONING 055293493

Since 1930 the seat of the museum is inthe old palace, restored several times overthe centuries, that takes its name from itslast owners, the Castellanis. The museumdisplays a very accurate and importantcollection of scientific instruments, theproof that interest of Florence in sciencefrom the thirteenth century onwards wasas great as its interest in art. The collec-tion, or at least the oldest core, originatesfrom the interest of the Medici andLorraine family in natural, physical andmathematical sciences. It is well knownthat Cosimo I and Francesco de’ Mediciencouraged the scientific and artisticresearches in the Grand Ducal work-shops, although even Ferdinando II andCardinal Leopoldo promoted and contin-ued, in the 17th century, physics experi-ments in the full light of Galileo's method.

During the 19th century, evenFrancesco and Pietro Leopoldo ofLorraine continued this type of collectingwith the aid of qualified specialists like theabbot Felice Fontana (1730-1805), whowas appointed to direct and increase thecollection of the new Museum of Physicsand Natural History, inaugurated in 1775in the rooms of the present day Specolamuseum, situated in via Romana. Most ofthe instruments displayed come from theworkshop of the latter museum and arenow exhibited on the second floor of theMuseum of History of Science that alsocomprises the old Medici collection origi-nally displayed at the Uffizi.

The first floor (11 rooms) is dedicat-ed to the Medici core: quadrants, astro-

labus, meridianas, dials, compasses,armillary spheres, bussolas, real worksof art made by famous Tuscan andEuropean artists. The museum alsoexhibits the Galileo's original instru-ments, the thermometers belonging tothe Accademia del Cimento (1657-1667), the microscopes and meteorolog-ical instruments. The second floor (10rooms) shows a large number of veryinteresting and beautiful instruments,mostly belonging to the Lorraine family,used for mechanical, electrostatic andpneumatic applications. Other sectionsare dedicated to mechanical clocks, sex-tants, octants, pharmaceutical andchemical apparatus, weights and mea-sures. The section dedicated to medicinedisplays suggestive obstetrical models inwax and terracotta, which show a realcatalogue of anomalous positions of thefoetus in the womb, in addition to a col-lection of surgical instruments belong-ing to Giovanni Alessandro Brambilla.

The Institute of History of Science,close to the museum, owns a very largeand old library with lots of research mate-rial that is continuously updated. TheInstitute publishes an internal review onhistory of science, “Nuncius”, besides car-rying out permanent research work on thehistory of science and technique, organis-ing exhibitions and publishing mono-graphical work, catalogues of instruments,etc. It also carries out an intense didacticactivity thanks to the Planetarium on theground floor. The Institute also has a pho-tographic laboratory, two restoration lab-oratories and a modern IT laboratory.

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MUSEO ZOOLOGICO

DE “LA SPECOLA”

"LA SPECOLA", THE ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUMVIA ROMANA 17 - FIRENZE

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89

Several generations of the Medicis hadcollected with passion great artistic trea-sures, but also a wide range of naturaltreasures like fossils, animals, mineralsand exotic plants. This material and thenew addition, which includes also a verylarge collection of books from all overEurope, was used by the enlightenedPietro Leopoldo di Lorena, with the aidof the abbot Felice Fontana (1730-1805)to create a Museum of Natural Historyopened to the public. For this reason, theprince purchased in 1771 the block ofbuildings situated next to the Pitti Palace,which still is the present-day location ofthe museum. "La Specola" was officiallyinaugurated in 1775; until the early yearsof the 19th century it was the only scien-tific museum specifically created for thepublic, with opening hours, guides andkeepers. Today the philosophy of themuseum is very much the same. The his-tory of its collections is rather complexdue to the fact that some of the anthropo-logical, botanical and paleonthologicalpieces originally preserved in the museumhave been moved to other museums anduniversity institutes, like many of theinstruments used for physics, chemistryand astronomy, which were removed inthe years between 1870 and 1930.

Today visitors have access to 34rooms: 24 are dedicated to zoology and 10to anatomic waxes. The zoological sectiondisplays both recently acquired and oldexamples of animals preserved with the

technique of taxidermy, such as the hip-popotamus that was apparently given tothe Grand Duke in the second half of the17th century and lived for a few years inthe Boboli Gardens. The Museum is par-ticularly proud of its collection of anatom-ic waxes, an art introduced in Florence byLudovico Cigoli (1559-1613), whichenjoyed its maximum period of splendourand technical and scientific accuracy dur-ing the 18th century. The most famousrepresentative of wax sculpture wasClemente Susini (1754-1814) who madethe most important pieces of the collec-tion in the laboratory of the Museum(that has not been in use for over a centu-ry). The most important pieces of the waxcollection is represented by the group ofwaxes by Gaetano Zumbo (1656-1701),which possess an extraordinary artisticvalue besides representing excellentanatomical models.

The interior of the museum alsohouses a very special area: the so-calledTribune of Galileo designed and built in1841 by the architect Giuseppe Martellito celebrate the famous Tuscan scientistand to display his instruments togetherwith those belonging to the Accademiadel Cimento (this material is now dis-played in the Museum of the History ofScience). The room is decorated withfrescoes and sculptured and inlaid mar-bles that illustrate some of the mostimportant Italian scientific discoveriesfrom the Renaissance period to our days.

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The room dedicated to the bone andmuscular systems: wax models

The bird room: a detail of the showcasededicated to parrots

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MUSEO NAZIONALE DI

ANTROPOLOGIA E ETNOLOGIA

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THE MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGYVIA DEL PROCONSOLO 12 - FLORENCE

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AND INDIVIDUAL VISITORS

Founded in 1869 by the physicianand anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza,this Museum, one of the few in Europe,is situated in the rooms of PalazzoNonfinito begun in 1593 on the projectof Bernardo Buontalenti.

The documentation collected mainlyduring the scientific missions of theFlorentine anthropological school,exhibits materials of the original culture– now lost – of several races from differ-ent parts of the world (harnesses, cloth-ing, weapons, boats and cult objects …).In addition to ancient bone collections,extremely interesting to be able to studythe paleoanthropology of our country,and modern osteologic findings (severalskulls from all over the world) that offeran extraordinary survey of the somatictraits of Italian and other populationsfrom all over the world.

The photographic and archive docu-ments are very important from the sci-entific point of view. They include inparticular chalk masks belonging tosome tribes in Africa, Asia and thePolynesian Isles. The first floor of themuseum is dedicated to the collectionsof Africa, Asia, America and Australiaarranged according to a geographicalorder; the ground floor is instead takenup by the Indian Museum (founded in1885 by A. De Gubernatis, a scholar ofsanscript), joined to the Museum of

Anthropology in 1913, by the collectiondedicated to Tibet, by the one showingthe physical evolution of Man and bytemporary exhibitions.

A specialised library adjoins theMuseum.

A canoe of the Solomon Islandsand anthropologyand ethnology collections

The brow of a Mafor craft Skull (remodelled in clay and painted).Solomon Islands

MUSEO DI GEOLOGIA

E PALEONTOLOGIA

THE GEOLOGY AND PALEONTHOLOGY MUSEUMVIA LA PIRA 4 - FLORENCE

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It is the most important museum inits kind in Italy and includes about300,000 examples of animal and veg-etable fossils, fossil imprints and rockspecimens. The initial paleonthologicand geological collections started to beput together by the Medici GrandDukes and were further increased bythe Lorraine family. They were movedto the present day location only in 1925.

Enriched by donations and recentdiscoveries, the collections include sev-eral extraordinary examples. In additionto the lavish collection of Villafranchianmammals from the upper Valdarno(with impressing Proboscidea) there arealso: the anthropoid monkey fromMaremma (Oreopithecus bambolii), theimprints of mesozoic reptiles fromMonte Pisano and non-flying birds(Moa) from New Zealand. A wholeroom is dedicated to the evolution ofhorses; some display stands and panelsillustrate the paleonthobiogeography ofthe Mediterranean region – and in par-ticular of Italy – during the upperMiocene, the theses on the origin of lifeand the evolution of vertebrates and inparticular of Primates.

Besides displaying vertebrates, themuseum also offers a wide collection ofinvertebrates and plants that have beenarranged in chronological order in thecentral gallery of the Museum.

The Museum organises didacticactivities, guided tours, lessons andtemporary exhibitions.

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Fur of a Siberianmammoth

Crinoid from Germany,Triassic period

Tiger with sabre-like teethfrom the Upper Valdarno

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Two-face tool of the LibyanSahara, early Palaeolithical period

Arrow points in flint from thearea around Grosseto, Copper AgeMUSEO FIORENTINO

DI PREISTORIA

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THE MUSEUM AND FLORENTINE INSTITUTE OF PREHISTORY"PAOLO GRAZIOSI" - VIA S. EGIDIO 21 - FIRENZE

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The Museum and FlorentineInstitute of Prehistory was founded inFlorence in 1946 in the Palace of theOblates, in order to gather, preserveand classify the prehistoric collectionsexisting in Florence.

The collections cover a period thatranges from the Pre-stone age to thehistorical times and represent the mani-festations of human activity based firston non productive economy of huntingand crops, then on a productive onebased on agriculture, sheepfarming andmetal work.

Evidences consist of stone instru-ments, bone, pottery, copper arms,bronze and by artistic evidences(impressions, photos and originals) etc.accompanied by their respective humankinds, faunal and botanical specimens.The evidences come from excavationand research in Italy and abroad car-ried out in Europe, Africa, Asia andAmerica from the beginning of prehis-toric studies down to the nineteenthcentury. These forms the "historical"collections, although there are also sev-eral collections gathered as a result ofrecent investigations.

Two rooms on the first floor have aspecifically didactic layout. The firstroom is dedicated to the environment,to human fossils and to human culture

during the whole prehistoric period.The second room is dedicated toEuropean prehistory.

The exhibition continues with aroom that displays, on the left, a seriesof original evidences of the Paleolithic(stone and bone tools), of the Neolithic(ceramics and stone tools), of theEneolithic and of the Bronze Age(ceramics, metals, etc). The right side ofall the first floor room is dedicated toItalian prehistory with authentic exam-ples, photos, drawings and large slides.

The second floor displays an extra-ordinary group of European collectionsfrom the first discoveries in the field ofprehistory, in addition to African andAsian collections. As far as America isconcerned, it is worth considering theethnographic material from Argentinaand the stone material belonging to thelate North-American prehistoric age.

Extremely interesting is also thephotographic permanent exhibitiondedicated to the African prehistoricage, reconstructed in its original sizesand represented through the aid of over60 photomurals.

MUSEO DI MINERALOGIA E

LITOLOGIA DELL’UNIVERSITÀ

THE MINERALOGY AND LITHOLOGY MUSEUMVIA GIORGIO LA PIRA 4 - FLORENCE

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

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The collections of minerals weretransferred to their present day loca-tion in 1880 from the Royal Museumof Physics and Natural History,known as "La Specola" (it was creat-ed in 1775 by Grand Duke PietroLeopoldo). The museum displaysover 45,000 examples, including thelavish collection of samples from allover the world, an extraordinary col-lection of stones that have beenworked and belong to the Medici andthe collection of minerals from theisland of Elba, which is the mostunique because of the number of sam-ples it includes, which comprises over6,000 stones.

One of the finest pieces is the topazweighing 151 Kg (the second largeststone in the world) that comes fromMinas Gerais in Brazil, but there alsohuge samples of Brazilian pegmatites,such as the smoked quartz that weighs180 kg., the orthoclase of 60 kg and theaquamarine of 98 kg.

The museum displays some of themost beautiful samples of coveline andazurite from Sardinia, in addition tolarge samples of Sicilian sulphur. Thecollection of minerals from the Island ofElba comprise splendid samples oftormelines, a proof of the extraordinaryquantity of minerals that could befound on this island in the past.

The worked stones of the Medici col-lection prevalently have an historical andaesthetic value. The main pieces com-prise cups, goblets and very fine snuff-boxes, but there are also goblets in jasperand jade with the engraving LAU-RMED (Lorenzo the Magnificent), thequartz boat and the goblet in lapis lazuli,a creation by G. Miseroni. This rich col-lection also comprises cut stones, like cit-rine quartzes, smoked quartzes, zircons,grenades and emeralds.

The collection of meteorites (lessthan 100 pieces) is more modest butequally important. The finest samplesare the meteorite fallen in the areaaround Siena on June 16, 1794 andthose fallen on Monte Milone (nearMacerata) on May 8, 1846.

The museum has also finishedarranging the series of didactic standsthat define the origins of rocks and theevolution and properties of minerals.

Thanks to the very important scien-tific and historical value of the collec-tion and their consistency, theMineralogy Museum of the Universityof Florence can be considered the mostimportant museum in Italy and one ofthe most famous ones abroad.

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LAPIS LAZULI GOBLETG. Miseroni (1563 c)

PINK TOURMALINEIsland of Elba

S. Piero in Campo

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Past and present-day collections ofthe Botanical Museum

Wax model of some fruits of"Eugenia malaccensis" (Myrtaceae)grown in 1841 in the BibbianiGarden (Florence)

Wax model of an example of "CameliaJaponica" (uncertain origin: C. Susini,1754-1814 or F. Calenzuoli 1796-1829)

MUSEO

BOTANICO

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THE BOTANICAL MUSEUMVIA LA PIRA 4 - FLORENCE

The Botanical Museum was estab-lished only 1842, that is fairly late ascompared to other FlorentineMuseums. Its establishment wasarranged by Grand Duke Leopoldo IIof Lorraine who profited of the experthelp from the internationally famousbotanist Filippo Parlatore (Palermo1816 – Florence 1877). The latterenriched the small core of existing itemsby creating an Herbarium that hetermed, from the very start, the"Central" Herbarium, thus clearly indi-cating his intention of transforming itinto the most important Italian collec-tion of its kind. As a matter of fact, theHerbarium of Florence is one of therichest in Italy and one of best ones inthe world. Parlatore achieved thisextraordinary result by donating hisown private herbarium and by skilfullymanaging purchases and exchanges.

Of particular importance were theCesalpino, Micheli-Targioni and Webb(the latter comprised almost 80,000plants) collections that were added tothe ones that already existed in themuseum in the mid-19th century.

The collection was further enrichedby other precious plant sets in the 20thcentury (Tropical Herbarium, forexample). The whole collection nowtakes up 12 large rooms of the BotanicalInstitute of the University of Florence

and displays nearly 4 million examplesof plants. A small rooms exhibits someexamples and objects that are particu-larly interesting from the scientific andhistorical point of view, such as exam-ples of useful plants, products from veg-etable origin, models of plants in wax orchalk and old herbariums.

Of note are also the superb modelsin wax by the famous artists Calamaiand Tortori (early 19th century) andthe Cesalpine Herbarium of 1563,which is one of the oldest in the world.

The museum is now accessible to dis-abled people. In the future it will be pos-sible to organise guided tours for groups.

ORTO

BOTANICO

THE BOTANICAL GARDENS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCEVIA MICHELI 3 - FLORENCE

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101

The Botanical Gardens of Florencewere founded on December 1st 1545,when Grand Duke Cosimo I dei Medicipurchased the land from the Dominicansisters. The Orchard that was knownwith the name of Giardino dei Semplici,because of the fact that it was used to cul-tivate and raise medicinal plants, is thethird oldest botanical garden after thoseof Padua and Pisa. The original layoutwas designed by Niccolò called "ilTribolo" who had already planned sever-al other grand ducal gardens, like the oneof the Medici villa in Castello. Initiallythe gardens were directed by the botanistLuca Ghini, who had already followed,two years earlier, the Botanical Gardensof Pisa by order of the Grand Duke.

The garden was improved andembellished with the 18th century col-lections thanks to the commitment ofCosimo III dei Medici who assigned itsdirection to the Florentine BotanicalSociety, under the direction of thefamous botanist Pier Antonio Micheli.Its direction was transferred in 1783 tothe Accademia dei Georgofili and wasreferred to as Agricultural experimentalgarden, then renamed into Giardino deiSemplici in 1847 and finally intoBotanical Garden of the Upper EducationInstitute in 1880.

The Gardens currently take up anarea of 2.39 hectares, divided into small-

er and larger avenues. The structure alsohas its own greenhouses and hot housesfor the cultivation of special plants.

The vegetable patrimony is formed byover 5,000 examples with several very oldtress, some of which, such as the Taxusbaccata, planted by Micheli himselfaround 1720, a very large cork oak plant-ed in 1805 and never stripped, severalexamples of Coniferae like the Araucaria,Torreya, Sequoia and a beautiful exampleof Metasequoia glyptostroboides, a speciesoriginally known as fossil and rediscov-ered in China only in 1941.

The most important collections arethose comprising Cicadidae, Tillandsia,Orchids and ferns. Extremely interest-ing, because of its dimensions and num-ber, is the collection of azaleas thatalways draws the attention of a largenumber of visitors during the floweringperiod. Even the sections dedicated tomedicinal plants, cactuses and carnivo-rous plants are also very interestingfrom the didactic point of view.

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Male strobilas of Encephalartosaltensteinii, Lehem (Zaminaceae)

"Tillandsia caput-medusae"E. Morren (Bromeliaceae)

"Maxillaria cucullata", Lindl.(Orchidaceae)

MUSEUMS IN THESORROUNDINGSTHE SURROUNDINGS OF FLORENCE

CHIANTI

EMPOLESE-VALDELSA

MUGELLO-ALTO MUGELLO-VAL DI SIEVE

VALDARNO

STATE MUSEUMSCITY MUSEUMSSCIENCE MUSEUMSOTHER MUSEUMS

m u s e u m s a n d g a l l e r i e s

ANTIQUARIUMANTIQUARIUMVIA DI RITORTOLI 6BAGNO A RIPOLI

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ORATORIO DI

SANTA CATERINA

ORATORY OF ST. CATHERINEVIA DEL CAROTALOC. PONTE A EMA – BAGNO A RIPOLI

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A rare jewel of Italian Gothic style,the Oratory of St. Catherine is close toPonte a Ema, just outside Florence. Itwas built around the middle of the 14thcentury by the Alberti family. Its archi-tecture is simple and geometrical likemany of the churches scattered aroundthe country between Florence andSiena. Its interior preserves frescoesand decorations of a rare beauty. Anextraordinary richness of forms andcolours that narrate the life of the mar-

tyr princess, Santa Caterinad’Alessandria, which were started bythe Master of Barberino and by PietroNelli and reach their maturity thanksto the contribution of Spinello Aretino,one of the most outstanding painters ofthe 14th century Tuscan tradition.Over the centuries, the cycle of fres-coes have suffered alterations and dam-ages. The paintings are again visible inall their beauty after many years ofrestoration work.

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The Antiquarium in Bagno a Ripoliexhibits several very interesting archae-ological remains found in the municipalterritory that are now permanently ondisplay in the rooms of via di Ritortoli.

Situated in a strategic position alongthe main road system, Bagno a Ripolistarted to be inhabited in the earlyNeolithic period. The existence of set-tlements has been documented thanksto the numerous remains that belong to

a period that ranges from the Augustanage down to the III century BC. Mostof the remains come from the site of viadella Nave. The most outstanding dis-covery is the finding of a group of glasscontainers, some of which have a coinimprint on the bottom.

The Antiquarium also exhibits a frag-ment of sandstone with the Etruscaninscription “Tular Spular”, that probablywas boundary stone delimiting a village.

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ANTIQUARIUM:Glass vases with coin stamp

(1st-2nd centuries A.D.)

ORATORIO DI S. CATERINA:Frescoes by

(14th century)

ANTIQUARIUMTular (Boundary stone) from

Gavignano (4th-2nd centuries BC)

THE SURROUNDINGSOF FLORENCE

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The Thermal Baths THE SURROUNDINGSOF FLORENCEAREA ARCHEOLOGICA E

MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO

Fiesole was an important commercialand strategic Etruscan centre due to itscloseness to the Apennines. During theRoman period it was an extremely vitalcentre and an unexpugnable centre underthe Goths and the Longobards. The cen-tre preserves therefore very importantarchaeological remains, now preserved inthe Archaeological Area and Museum.The Archaeological site is actually a verybeautiful and suggestive park that stillbears traces of the remains of a theatreand of the springs that seem to appear outof nowhere in between olives and cypress-es, in a relaxing and luxuriant landscape.

The theatre dates back to the end ofthe I century B.C., after the Roman con-quest of the town. At the time it was builtit could contain up to 2,000 spectators andwas richly decorated with marble andpietra serena friezes. The theatre wasabandoned at the end of the III centuryBC and ended up being buried and finallydisappeared. Traces of it remained in localmemories (as the toponym Buca delleFate seems to suggest). It was partiallyexcavated in the early 19th century, usedas quarry for the materials and againburied to prevent it from being complete-ly demolished. At the end of the last cen-tury it was again excavated, restored andused to represent theatre shows based onGreek and Roman texts. It is now used torepresent some of the initiatives organisedin summer by the Estate Fiesolana.

There are still consistent remains –swimming pool, calidarium and frigidarium– of the hot springs, one of the most pop-ular and characteristic sites of the RomanFiesole. Built a few years after the theatre,the hot springs were delimited by a largepaved mosaic portico. Two swimming

pools were located in the outdoor sectionof the building, which was entirely dedi-cated to swimming and other sports activ-ities. The eastern side is instead coveredand houses the hot baths and the saunas.

The area in front of the hot springs istaken up by the so-called sacred area thatis rather complex from an archaeologicalpoint of view and characterised by thepresence of two Roman temples belongingto two different periods. The area has analtar, a staircase and a monumental podium(I and III centuries BC), built over a pre-existing Etruscan site (IV century BC)that is still evident in the upper sections.

Recent excavations have also found inthe same area several Longobard tombscontaining very important objects tounderstand and study this culture in Italy.All the objects excavated are displayed inthe Archaeological museum. This muse-um, situated inside the archaeological site,offers a very interesting collection of sev-eral findings, thus offering visitors the pos-sibility of exploring the development of anancient town from the II millennium BC,down to the Etruscan, Roman, Longobardand early medieval age.

The collection of the museum displaysin particular archaic Etruscan steles inpietra serena, a large statue of a lioness inbronze, a part of a sculptural work belong-ing to the Ellenistic period, the marblefriezes of the theatre with scenes represent-ing Dyonisus, a faithfully reconstructedLongobard tomb with skeleton and relatedobjects, collector's ceramics, which includein particular the Costantini collection con-sisting of about 160 ceramics comprisingCorynthian, Attic vases with red and blackfigures, Etruscan and also Greek vases.

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THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AREA AND MUSEUMVIA PORTIGIANI 1

FIESOLE

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEGUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOLS

BOOKSHOP - CAFETERIA

MUSEO

BANDINI

THE BANDINI MUSEUMVIA DUPRÈ 1FIESOLE

GUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOLS

147

The museum is located in the buildingdesigned and built in 1913 by the archi-tect Giuseppe Castellucci. Reopened tothe public with a new layout in 1990, itpreserves and displays the art collectiongathered throughout the life of AngeloMaria Bandini, a cleric, a scholar, an his-torian and philologist (1726-1803).

One of the most interesting elementsof the collection is the group of works dat-ing back to the early years of Tuscan artand more specifically to "gilded" paint-ings, comprising a Crucified Christ attrib-uted to Meliore, the paintings of BernardoDaddi, Taddeo Gaddi, Lorenzo di Bicci,

146

Jacopo del SellaioTHE TRIUMPH

(Bandini Museum)

Primo ContiEROS

(Primo Conti Museum)

THE SURROUNDINGSOF FLORENCE

MUSEO

PRIMO CONTI

THE PRIMO CONTI FOUNDATIONVIA DUPRÉ 18FIESOLE

POSSIBILITY OF BOOKING GUIDED TOURS

The Primo Conti Foundation, openedin 1987 in the 16th century villa Le Coste,preserves over 60 oil paintings and 150drawings of the Florentine artist, paintedbetween 1911 and 1985. These emblem-atically reflect the evolution of a painterwho has succeeded in joining his own cul-tural roots to the great European artisticcurrents of this century. The upper floor

of the villa houses several archivesbelonging to the Italian protagonists ofthe 20th century. The archives containover hundreds of documents (authenticletters, first Futuristic, Dadaistic andSurrealist editions). The Museum and theArchive represent together a unique cen-tre in Italy to scientifically reconstruct theevolution of historical Avant-garde.

Neri di Bicci, Crucifixion with Madonna, St.John and St. Francis by Lorenzo Monacoand the Madonna del Parto by Nardo diCione. Very extraordinary and suggestiveare also the 15th century works like theTriumph of Love, Modesty, Time and Eternityby Jacopo del Sellaio, the Madonna withthe Child and an Angel painted by the assis-tants of Botticelli and the Crowning of theVirgin by the Master Cassoni Campana. Avery important group of works is repre-sented by the terracottas from the schoolof the Della Robbia brothers, which willbe displayed only from 1999 onwards dueto the restoration works on the museum'sground floor.

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Giò Ponti,CIST SHOWING THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE(20th century) Richard Ginori Museum

PLATE WITH A VIEWOF THE CASCINE PARK Richard Ginori Museum

THE SURROUNDINGSOF FLORENCEMUSEO RICHARD-GINORI

MANIFATTURA DI DOCCIA

The Museum displays an immensely richcollection of porcelain that was transferredhere from Doccia and Sesto Fiorentino in1954. Founded in 1735 by the MarquisCarlo Ginori, a man of wide culture and offarseeing entrepreneur, who was wellinformed on the experiments implying theuse of soft body carried out by the Medici,the Doccia factory has known periods ofgreat splendour thanks also to the additionsand contributions of family members (suchas that of the Swiss Richard) and still pro-duces today objects of exquisite quality. Theobjects of the collections are exhibited withmodern awareness in large luminous rooms.The display stands show the most preciousobjects of the collection that range from theearlier years down to the present-day pro-duction, starting from the large porcelain

The closeness of an important town likeFiesole naturally affected the population poli-cies in the area of Sesto right from theEtruscan age. This is demonstrated by theimportant archaelogical findings like thetomb known as La Montagnola (excavatedin 1959) and the tomb found under the villaLa Mula, which currently forms the cellar ofthe building. Both are "tholos" type tombsthat date back to the 7th-6th century B.C.Among other Etruscan findings it is also

worth remembering the archaic tomb ofPalastreto that was unfortunately destroyedafter its excavation in 1901, the stele ofCamporella, dating back to the 7th – 6th cen-tury BC, the "Tholos" tomb found around thefifties of the past century in the Torrigianivilla, also destroyed, the funeral stone of Netofound in 1903 in Villa Gamba Ghiselli, datingback to 6th century BC that is now preservedin the Archaelogical Museum of Florence.

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THE RICHARD-GINORIAND DOCCIA MUSEUM

VIA PRATESE 31 - SESTO FIORENTINO

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THE ETRUSCAN TOMB OF LA MULAVIA DELLA MULA 2SESTO FIORENTINO

THE ETRUSCAN TOMB OF MONTAGNOLAVIA FRATELLI ROSSELLI 95

SESTO FIORENTINOTOMBE

ETRUSCHE

pieces used by Carlo Ginori to transfer theBaroque plastic ideals of Foggini and Soldani(17th century) and represent the classic stat-ues of the grand ducal collections (such as theVenus of the Medici), in addition to bas-relieftrays or trays with Oriental decorations andto the monumental chimney place in whiteand blue ceramics of 1754. Even the laterobjects are equally interesting (precious 19thcentury vases and table services with richdecorations, sinuous forms of the Libertyperiod and plates based on the avant-guardedesigns of the 20th century artists) andarranged in a lavish assortment. The muse-um also has a library that collects all docu-ments concerning the history of ceramics, inaddition to drawings and prints used as mod-els to decorate the ceramic pieces.

MUSEO

DELLLA PAGLIA

THE STRAW AND WEAVING MUSEUMDOMENICO MICHELACCIVIA DEGLI ALBERTI 11 - SIGNA

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

This new museum, unique in its kindin Italy and one of the very few inEurope, marks the establishment of aregional, national and international cen-tre dedicated to a craft that plays a uni-versal value in the history of man andexperienced an incredible evolution inTuscany, despite the many vicissitudes.

Although this activity was carriedout in several areas of the region, themain centre was Florence and itsprovince. It was in the first decades ofthe 18th century that DomenicoMichelacci, known as Il Bolognino,started experimenting here in Signanew techniques to produce and collectwheat in order to improve the produc-tion of straw for the weaving activity.

In this case it was a matter of recov-ering a popular wide-spread tradition.The Museum aims at offering itself as acentre for the collection, study,research, preservation and exhibition ofan extraordinary patrimony that riskedbeing lost for ever.

The first rooms display extremelyinteresting samples of straw and wovenproducts and of the most famous arti-cles ever produced with these materials,which include famous hats exportedworldwide. There are also several oldmachines employed in the differentstages of production that show the com-

151150

"Sala della eguagliatrice"(end of the 18th century)

Entrance to the museumand statue of the plait-maker

THE SURROUNDINGSOF FLORENCE

plexity of this craft. The different prod-ucts arranged by place of origin showthe commitment to this activity of thecentres involved in its production.

The exhibition will be periodicallyrenewed in order to tackle different typesof issues: anthropological and cultural,artistic, economic, social and technicalissues in order to prove in the first placethat the production of straw objects hasbeen for a long time the most importanteconomic activity in Tuscany and cer-tainly one of the oldest in the life of men.

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Parish Church(Sant’Appiano)

Museum of Sacred Art(Greve in Chianti)

CHIANTIANTIQUARIUM

DI SANT’APPIANO

Inaugurated in June 1991, the smallAntiquarium is located in the roomsadjoining the parish church ofSant’Appiano, on a hill at a few kilome-tres to the south west of Barberino Val

d’Elsa. The museum is divided into tworooms that exhibit the vast majority ofthe archaelogical material found in theneighbouring areas and found duringsome excavations.

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THE ANTIQUARIUM OF SANT’APPIANOLOC. PIEVE DI SANT’APPIANO

BARBERINO VAL D’ELSA

GUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOLS (AND OTHER GROUPS) CAN BE RESERVED AHEAD

MUSEO DI

ARTE SACRA

This old Franciscan convent was builtright from the 15th century on the site ofan old “hostel”, along the road that onceconnected Mercatale di Greve to thecastle of Montefioralle.

The convent has been recently resto-red and will soon be re-opened to thepublic as the official seat of the Museumof Sacred Art. The museum, withannexed archaeological section, displays abeautiful Pieta in polychrome terracotta– on the altar of the small church – con-sisting of seven figures and dating backto the end of the 16th century. The Pieta

has a Della Robbia frame, which wasoriginally attributed to the Blind Masterof Gambassi although it is probably awork of Santi Buglioni.

The sacred objects that will be collec-ted in this new museum and displayed tothe public, come from deconsacratedchurches that could not adequately pro-tect the works from thefts or damages.The works of art have been moved inaccordance with the provisions establi-shed in the agreement signed by theMunicipal Administration of Greve inChianti and the Diocese of Fiesole.

THE MUSEUM OF SACRED ART OFST. FRANCIS AT GREVE IN CHIANTI

VIA DI SAN FRANCESCO - GREVE IN CHIANTI

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEGUIDED TOURS CAN BE

RESERVED BY PHONING 0558545219

MUSEO DEL TESORO

DI SANTA MARIA

THE MUSEUM OF THE TREASURE OF SANTA MARIABASILICA OF SANTA MARIA DELL’IMPRUNETAPIAZZA BUONDELMONTI 28 - IMPRUNETA

BOOKSHOPGUIDED TOURS CAN BERESERVED AHEAD 0552313729

Founded in 1987 thanks to the colla-boration of several institutions(Municipal Administration, Curia,Florentine Museum and Fine ArtsDepartment), the museum preserves aninestimable collection of gold work:vases, candlesticks, reliquaries, whichare the fruit of centuries of devotion tothe Madonna of Impruneta. These areex-votes donated in a competition ofreligious ardour and social competitionfrom the fourteenth to the nineteenth

The museum is located in the churchof Santa Maria del Gesù, a former con-vent of Benedictine nuns. It displaysseveral paintings including a beautifulexample of Madonna with Child by Lippodi Benivieni, the Coronation of the Virginby Neri di Bicci, San Rocco, St. Sebastianand Sant'Antonio Abate by the Master ofTavernelle (early 16th century) thatrepresent an extraordinary woodencrucifix by artist of the 14th centurySiennese school.

The oratory displays the most preciousworks: a dossal showing The Archangel St.Michael by Coppo di Marcovaldo, theMadonna with Child by AmbrogioLorenzetti and other paintings by Jacopodel Casentino, Cenni di Francesco, PierDandini etc. The collection also comprisesa small group of sculptures (by the Masterof Cabestany, 12th century, Gino Micheli,14th century, etc.), while the upper floorof the museum has a whole section dedi-cated to ornaments and vestments.

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Basilica of Santa Maria(Impruneta)

Cenni di FrancescoMADONNA WITH CHILD

(Museum of Sacred Art, San Casciano)

CHIANTI

MUSEO DI

ARTE SACRA

THE MUSEUM OF SACRED ARTVIA ROMA 31 - SAN CASCIANO VAL DI PESA

GUIDED TOURS CAN BE RESERVED FOR SCHOOLAND OTHER GROUPS EVEN WHEN THE MUSEUM IS CLOSEDRESERVATIONS CAN BE MADE BY PHONING 055/82551

century. A treasure that has been accu-mulated thanks to the donations of theMedici Grand Dukes, of noble families,and also from guilds and professionalFlorentine organisations.

In 1990 the museum also opened thesection dedicated to illuminated manu-scripts, which form part of the liturgicaltreasure belonging to the Basilica anddate back to the period between the14th and the 16th centuries.

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MelioreMADONNA WITH CHILD MUSEO DI

ARTE SACRA

The Museum was created thanks tothe agreement signed between theMunicipal Administration of Tavarnelleand the parish church of San Pietro e diSanta Lucia at Tavarnelle, with the co-operation of the diocesan curia ofFlorence, the Regional Administration ofTuscany and the Monuments and FineArts Office of Florence. The creation ofthis museum falls within a larger projectaimed at creating minor museums in theterritory of the province targeted atmaintaining the works of arts in theiroriginal locations, from which they oftenhave to be removed due to safety reasons.

The museum is housed in the parishchurch of San Pietro in Bossolo. The firstfloor of the museum displays a collectionof works of art and documentary evi-dence on the churches that once formedthe complex, that is the two parishchurches of San Pietro in Bossolo andSan Donato in Poggio. The parishchurch of San Pietro in Bossolo, whichoriginally comprised twenty minorchurches, is well represented through aseries of old paintings (Madonna withChild attributed to Meliore and theMadonna delle Grazie by Rossello diJacopo Franchi) that were once exhibit-ed in the church of San Pietro and origi-nated from other oratories. The collec-tion also includes the tablets of thechurch of Santa Maria al Morroccopainted by Neri di Bicci for Niccolò

Sernigi (Madonna with Child and Saints,Lamentation for the dying Christ, etc.), aunique series in terms of reliable docu-mentation, quality of execution andexcellent state of preservation; in addi-tion to works from the church of SanBartolomeo a Palazzuolo (Lorenzo diBicci and Jacopo da Empoli). The silver-ware from the above-mentioned church-es comprises very fine examples (two13th century astylar crosses, a gildedcopper cup, the ostensory by Nicola deAngelis dated 1706 and originating fromthe church of Santa Maria al Morrocco).

The parish church of San Donato inPoggio is essentially represented by thetwo churches of San Pietro a Olena andSan Lorenzo a Cortine comprising paint-ings – such as the Tryptych attributed toUgolino di Nerio and the Madonna by theMaster of Marradi - a group of 17th and18th century works (paintings byGiovanni Montini, Alessandro Gherardiniand Francesco Conti) and other objectsproduced in the laboratories of Florentinesilversmiths like Zanobi Biagioni andVittorio Querci. A sample of old liturgicalgarments and a collection of figurativedocuments dedicated to the so-called pop-ular religiousness, belonging to the neigh-bouring area and connected with the cultof Maria that is very popular in all sanctu-aries worshipping the Virgin – such as thechurch of Santa Maria al Morrocco –complete the exhibition.

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MUSEUM OF SACRED ARTPARISH CHURCH OF SAN PIETRO IN BOSSOLO

VIA DELLA PIEVE 19 - TAVARNELLE VAL DI PESA

BOOKSHOP

CHIANTI

MUSEO DELLA

VILLA MEDICEA

THE MUSEUM OF THE MEDICI VILLAVIA DEI PONTI MEDICEICERRETO GUIDI

The Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidinot far from Vinci, was commissionedby Cosimo I on the ruins of the ancientcastle of the Guidi counts. The buildingworks started in 1565 were yet unfin-ished in 1575.

According to tradition, the project ofthe villa and of the staircases in particularwas planned by Bernardo Buontalenti,who most certainly participated in a stageof the direction of the works. Recentstudies were however unable to prove ordeny the paternity of the project.

In addition to the main building thatnow houses the museum, the Medici villaalso includes the rear garden, thegrandiose open stone and cotto staircasesthat comprise the cellars and lead to theentrance, and the "hunters' palace" that isconnected to the villa through a passagethat runs along the loggia of the parish ofSan Leonardo. This was a hunters' resortand a comfortable stopping place alongthe road to Pisa. The villa, where IsabellaOrsini, the daughter of Cosimo I Mediciwas murdered in 1576, was sold byGrand Duke Pietro Leopoldo Lorrainein 1781 and has been owned by privateowners until 1969, when the last ownerleft it to the State upon condition that itwould be used as a national museum.

The museum, inaugurated in 1978with a series of 28 Medici portraits,

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A room of the museum

Medici buildingwithpanoramic view

of the village

EMPOLESE - VALDELSA

was enlarged over the years withobjects from other Florentine gallerieslike furniture pieces of the 17th, 18thand 19th centuries, Medici tapestries ofthe 17th century and architectural pro-jects left by a donor. The Museum hascurrently been wholly restructured inview of its transformation into aNational Museum of Hunting.

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A show case EMPOLESE - VALDELSAMUSEO CIVICO

DI PALEONTOLOGIA

The museum exhibits a collection offossils found in the neighbouring area, amalacology section and several matrices ofskulls that document the origins of man.

The objects, displayed in glass book-type cases aim at showing how paleon-thology can be applied to understandplanet Earth and search for its mainsources of energy.

The relation between paleonthologyand environmental issues has inspiredthe layout of the room dedicated to“Earth sciences” that develops an inter-esting didactic approach aimed atexplaining the mysteries of universeand at synthetically illustrating how ourplanet and biosphere works.

Only the last display stands of thecollection introduce the concept of fos-sils as former living beings, that is as thefinal product of those processes thatlead to the preservation of all the organ-isms that have lived in the past.

Thanks to its original layout, theMuseum is particularly suitable to be vis-ited by students, since it offers a culturalset of information that can be furtherdeveloped into didactic issues targeted atall the aspects of natural sciences. TheAuditorium of the Museum projects aseries of films on natural sciences.

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THE CIVIC MUSEUM OF PALEONTHOLOGYPIAZZA FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI

EMPOLI

GUIDED TOURS CAN BE RESERVED AHEAD

MUSEO DELLA COLLEGIATA

DI SANT’ANDREA

THE COLLEGIATA MUSEUM OF ST. ANDREW'SPIAZZA SAN GIOVANNIEMPOLI

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE. GUIDED TOURS FOR GROUPS OR SINGLEVISITORS CAN BE RESERVED AHEAD

163

The Museum, located in the squareadjoining the Collegiata and founded in1859, is one of the oldest ecclesiasticalmuseum that comprises original Tuscanworks of art ranging from the 14th tothe 16th century.

The suggestive Baptistry that collectsall the frescoes (including the master-piece by Masolino representing a Pietà),for which the grandiose Baptismal Fontattributed to Bernardo Rossellino wasintended, gives access to the room des-tined to display sculptures exhibiting thebasreliefs representing a Madonna withChild, works by Tino di Camaino andMino da Fiesole.

The upper floor is taken up by thepicture gallery with a lavish collectionof paintings arranged in chronologicalorder. The collection includes the polip-tych by an unknown artist of Pistoia,referred to as the “Master of 1336” andsome interesting products of theFlorentine workshops that were activebetween the end of the 14th and thebeginning of the 15th century. Theother rooms display mature 15th centu-ry works, with authentic masterpieceslike the two triptychs by LorenzoMonaco and the small Majesty byFilippo Lippi. The next room, close tothe Shrine of St. Sebastian by FrancescoBotticini and Antonio Rossellino,groups all the works by the Botticinis,

who owned a very active studio in theearly decades of the 16th century. Themain piece of the collection is the Shrineof the Sacrament by Francesco andRaffaello Botticini, in addition to otherlate 15th and 16th century works. Theitinerary of the museum ends in the sec-tion above the cloister that displayssome sculptures by Della Robbia.

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MasolinoPIETÁ

EMPOLESE - VALDELSA

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Terminal of Berlinghiero's Cross(13th century)

EMPOLESE - VALDELSAMUSEO CIVICO

DI FUCECCHIO

The museum, inaugurated in 1969and closed due to restoration work, willbe probably reopened in 2000 and movedto the rooms of the Corsini Palace, once aprivate home. The palace is surroundedby a park that is also the location of themedieval Florentine Fortress, built onthe pre-existing Castle of Salamarzanathat controlled the bridge over riverArno along the Francigena.

This road is represented as part ofthe artistic itinerary that comprises thewhole archaeological area, which dis-plays interesting findings from the"House of Poggio Salamartano" (12thcentury), the section dedicated to"minor arts", featuring a very interest-ing ivory pastoral staff (12th century)that according to tradition belonged toSan Pietro Igneo and the picture gallerythat exhibits also the precious side altarpiece formed by the Cross ofBerlinghiero (13th century).

The most important paintings comefrom the neighbouring Collegiatachurch and comprise in particular theMadonna with Child and Saints by theMaster of Fucecchio (c. 1440-1450),the Madonna with Child by ZanobiMachiavelli (c. 1460-1465), the Nativitywith Saints by the Master of the KressLandscapes (dated 1523), the lunetteshowing The Blessing Holy Father bySanti di Tito (c. 1580-1590). One of the

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THE CIVIC MUSEUM OF FUCECCHIOPIAZZA VITTORIO VENETO 27 (CORSINI PALACE)

FUCECCHIO

largest paintings is undoubtedly SanLuigi Gonzaga in glory by GiovanDomenico Ferretti (1755).

The picture gallery has recentlybeen enriched through the donation ofthe paintings by Arturo Checchi (1886-1971): this section can be visited in therooms of Palazzo Della Volta, via G. diSan Giorgio 2 (not accessible to dis-abled people).

MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO

E DELLA CERAMICA

THE MUSEUM OF ARCHEOLOGY AND POTTERYVIA BARTOLOMEO SINIBALDIMONTELUPO FIORENTINO

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOPGUIDED TOURS CAN BE BOOKED BY PHONING 057151352

167

The present layout was given to theMuseum in 1989, when it was arrangedaccording to two main themes: thearchaeology of the territory and the his-tory of the pottery of Montelupo.

The first section is preceded by adidactic display that shows the environ-mental transformations of this area ofthe middle Florentine Valdarno, besidesexhibiting the artefacts found in overtwenty years of excavations and topo-graphical researches that have helpedto create in Montelupo one of the mostimportant collections of prehistoric pro-duction of the whole of the Tuscany,and put together a rich documentationof several protohistoric, Etruscan andRoman sites.

The second floor of the museum dis-plays the objects found during excava-tions that are related to the early produc-tion of pottery in the area of Montelupo(late 13th century). The display is pre-ceded by a space suitably prepared tointroduce the technology and the typo-logical transformations of medieval andmodern pottery, starting from archaicmajolica down to items dating back to the15th century, which demonstrate thatMontelupo was one of the main centresfor the production of pottery in Tuscany.

A suitably arranged didactic spaceexplains in a simple yet exhaustive

manner the problems connected withthe technology, that is materials, tech-niques and the main characteristics ofthe production of clay, colours and fir-ing of the finished product. Moredetails are available by reserving guidedtours or thanks to the specialisedvideoteque, that is to integrative toolsthat are particularly suitable for the vis-its of school groups.

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The facade of the museum Plate with oval and lozengedecorations (16th century)

EMPOLESE - VALDELSA

169

School of Leonardo"MADONNA DELLE MINIME"

The underground gallery,one of the sections of the Museum

LEDA AND THE SWAN(from an originaldrawingof Leonardo)

EMPOLESE - VALDELSAMUSEO IDEALE

LEONARDO DA VINCI

The Ideal Museum of Leonardo DaVinci was inaugurated on October 2nd1993. It is dedicated to the art andutopia of Leonardo, to information con-cerning the territory where he was bornand to the modernity of his inventions.The collection displays in a verystraightforward manner the complexityof the work of this artist. He was notonly an inventor but above all a univer-sal and prophetic artist in the earlyyears of development of technology andscience. The underground gallery of themedieval castle of Vinci and other verysuggestive rooms exhibit also Etruscanfindings excavated in the area near theplace of birth of Leonardo, models ofthe inventions of the artist and originalworks of art (from the workshop ofLeonardo at Duchamp).

Founded by artists and scholars, themuseum promotes international exhibi-tions dedicated to Leonardo like“Nell’idea di Leonardo” (for “Modelsand art”, for “Artifax”, for pupils andstudents aged 6 to 25, etc.), besidespublishing multimedia editions andobjects based on models by Leonardo.The Museum collects objects from allover the world covering five centuriesof “objects inspired to Leonardo”(leonardismi) (this term is used todescribe the phenomenon of the mythof Leonardo, ranging from art to massmedia). The organisation also designs

and organises both in Italy and abroaditinerant exhibitions on different sub-jects (the Tuscany of Leonardo, Leonardoand the sea, The projects of a genius andThe Art of flying).

The Ideal Museum is part of theCentre of the Art, Nature and Science of theTuscany of Leonardo that is working onthe creation of a Garden of Leonardo and ofUthopia that will be an open air museumarranged on the hills facing the histori-cal centre of Vinci. The first works thathave already been displayed are theLabyrinth of Leonardo, the Bridge ofFortune, the Dome of Arts and Ideas.

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THE IDEAL MUSEUM OF LEONARDO DA VINCIAND THE GARDEN OF LEONARDO

VIA MONTALBANO 2 - VINCI

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOP

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MUSEO

LEONARDIANO

THE MUSEUM OF LEONARDOCASTLE OF THE GUIDI COUNTSVINCI

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLESCHOOL GROUPS OR INDIVIDUAL VISITORS CAN RESERVE AHEAD GUIDEDTOURS AND SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL ITINERARIES.

At about 3 km. from Vinci, at Anchiano,the Birthplace of Leonardo represents thenatural conclusion to the visit of the neigh-bouring museum. The birth of Leonardo onApril 15, 1452 in this country house is testi-fied by an old tradition, which was alsoaccepted by the historian Emanuele Repetti.

The building stand against a landscape thatis still very similar to the one Leonardo hada chance of seeing as a child. The interior ofthe house houses a permanent didactic exhi-bition with reproductions of drawings withlandscapes of the Tuscan country and a mapof Valdarno made by Leonardo himself.

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Situated inside the Castle of the GuidiCounts, the Museum of Leonardo offers oneof the widest and most original collections ofmachines and models by Leonardo, viewedas inventor, technologist and engineer. Eachreproduction specifically refers to thedrawings of the artist and to his notes writ-ten by his own hand. The displayed machi-nes belong to different fields of study, justlike the vast amount of different drawingsused by Leonardo to represent his intuitions,refined machines and mechanisms that havebeen handed down from the technical litera-ture of the 15th century. The collection isarranged on three floors that display the dif-ferent models of the machines created byLeonardo. The display comprises militarymachines, working machines and scientificinstruments. The first floor presents a collec-tion of machines created to move in the air,on the water and on the ground. The wingwith leaves, the ship with impellers and the

motor-driven cart represent three differentsections of the investigation carried out bythe artist. The video room on the secondfloor houses both a video collection and nineplastic models designed for the De DivinaProportione by Luca Pacioli. The room canseat up to 25 people and is equipped toproject, on request, documentaries on thelife, the locations and the works ofLeonardo, viewed as artist, scientist andengineer. Close to the museum, visitors findthe Palazzina Uzielli that has an equippeddidactic hall, a room for exhibitions and amultimedia laboratory used by the museumsystem "Le Terre del Rinascimento". Thewhole museum building, together with theLibrary dedicated to Leonardo, preservescopies of all the manuscripts and drawingsof the artist and aims at offering a documen-tation centre on Leonardo and his time, besi-des temporarily displaying exhibitions andeducational programmes on fine arts.

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Models exhibited in theLeonardo Da Vinci Museum

The Birthplaceof Leonardo

EMPOLESE - VALDELSA

CASA DI

LEONARDO

THE BIRTHPLACE OF LEONARDOLOC. ANCHIANOVINCI

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

173

MADONNA WITH CHILDtempera and gold on a woodenboard (Museum of Sacred Art)

Benozzo GozzoliSHRINE SHOWING THE VISITATIONBY AN ANGLE

EMPOLESE - VALDELSAGLI AFFRESCHI DI

BENOZZO GOZZOLI

The Municipal Art Collection,arranged in 1986 in a building along themedieval via Tilli, exhibits the restoredfrescoes and sinopias of two street taber-nacles frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli.Benozzo Gozzoli painted most of his fres-coes in the 15th century and contributedto divulging Florentine Renaissance cul-ture also in the Tuscan countryside. Thepaintings, representing scenes from thelife of the Virgin, are characterised by agreat narrative ability and by several real-istic details, which give these sacredthemes a subtle profane vein and at the

same time a touch of serenity and opti-mism. The vault of the Tabernacolo dellaMadonna della Tosse (1484) features theBlessing Christ and the Four Evangelists whilethe walls display three paintings: the Virginsitting on a throne with the Saints, the Exequiesof the Virgin and the Assumption of the Virgin.The imposing Tabernacolo della Visitazione(1490) is decorated with several episodesof the life of the Virgin, from The Expulsionof Joachim from the Temple down to TheAdoration of the Magi. The frescoes arearranged on both the upper and lower lev-els and joined by a masterly architecture.

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THE FRESCOES OF BENOZZO GOZZOLIVIA TILLI 41

CASTELFIORENTINO

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOP

MUSEO DI

ARTE SACRA

THE MUSEUM OF SACRED ARTCASTELFIORENTINO

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOP

The Museum of Sacred Art, which col-lects the works that were once located inthe churches of the village and surround-ing territory, is located close to theSanctuary of Santa Verdiana. It preservessome paintings that range from the 13th tothe 16th century and some very interestingworks of art like the Madonna with Childattributed to Giotto (that is a fragment of apolyptych), a Majesty attributed to TaddeoGaddi, in addition to the works of Jacopodel Casentino, Neri di Bicci, JacopoFranchi, Francesco Granacci, Vasari andof others. There are also other paintings on

canvas by Veracini, Gamberucci, Boldriniand by other minor painters of the17th–18th centuries. It is also worthadmiring the illuminated manuscripts -from the 13th down to the 18th centuries -and the astylar crosses, calyces, chande-liers and shrines. A section of the museumis dedicated to a collection of fabrics fromthe 15th-18th centuries. The wooden piecerepresenting the Annunciation of Marianod’Agnolo Romanelli and a marble sculp-ture of a Madonna with Child of the 16thcentury are perhaps two of the most extra-ordinary works.

CASA DI

BOCCACCIO

THE HOUSE OF BOCCACCIOVIA BOCCACCIOCERTALDO

The so-called House of Boccaccio,located along the wide and attractivevia Boccaccio and consisting in a towerand a loggia, is supposed to be the placewhere the poet lived and died. Thewhole building was completely restoredin 1947 on the few remains that hadsurvived after the last world war,though it had most certainly alreadybeen rebuilt in the 15th century.

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Chapels(San Vivaldo)

The House of Boccaccio(Certaldo)

EMPOLESE - VALDELSA

CONVENTO E SACRO

MONTE DI SAN VIVALDO

CONVENT AND SACRED MOUNT OF SAN VIVALDOLOC. SAN VIVALDOMONTAIONE

PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE

The Franciscan building of SanVivaldo was erected in a location sur-rounded by thick woods, where VivaldoStricchi is believed to have lived at thebeginning of the 14th century. A smallchurch was in fact built in 1320 on thesame spot of the chestnut tree where thehermit's body was found. Over time, thechurch was enlarged and transferred in1497 to the minor Franciscan friars, whodecided to built a monastery. The SacredMount was built next to the monasterybetween 1500 and 1515. Based on a pro-

ject of father Tommaso da Firenze, thebuilding is formed by 34 chapels, of whichonly 17 survive to the present day, whichcontain some reliefs in polychrome terra-cotta representing episodes of the life ofChrist. The Sacred Mount is also knownwith the name of Jerusalem, because itreproduced on a smaller scale, the sites ofthe Sacred City. The MunicipalAdministration of Montaione has organ-ised inside this building a permanent exhi-bition that illustrates its characteristics andcompares them with those of Jerusalem.

Today it is the seat of the NationalCentre of Studies on Boccaccio andexhibits a small library with someworks of this artist. Several men's andwomen's shoes of the 15th century,found during the excavation works,offer a curious and absolutely extraor-dinary view of the fashion of the time.

177

The Parish Churchof San Piero in Mercato(11th century)

EMPOLESE - VALDELSAMUSEO DI

ARTE SACRA

The Museum of Sacred Art ofMontespertoli was founded by virtue ofan agreement between the MunicipalAdministration and the rural dean ofMontespertoli, with the collaboration ofthe Archbishop Curia of Florence, theState and Florentine Monuments andFine Arts Department and the Cassa diRisparmio di Firenze.

The museum, located in the beautifuland large parish church of San Piero inMercato, has collected the treasures ofthis parish church and of the neighbour-ing ones. The room displays a series ofpaintings and silver ornaments originat-ing from the rural church of San Piero inMercato. Even the wooden pallet paint-ed by Neri di Bicci – originally situatedin the church of San Michele a Mogliano– has the same origin, like the 16th cen-tury painting showing a Madonna withChild sitting between St. Peter and St. Paul.The collection comprises also a terracot-ta by Della Robbia representing St.Jerome in the desert. The vast majority ofpaintings comes from the churches ofSanta Maria a Mensola, San Giusto, SanGiorgio and San Lorenzo a Montalbinolike the Triptych dated 1400 by Cenni diFrancesco, the small Madonna by Andreadi Giusto, an eclectic painter of the firsthalf of the 15th century, influenced bythe art of Masaccio and Beato Angelico,and the two panels, that have not yetbeen attributed to a specific author, fromthe Siennese and Florentine school,together with the 14th century St.Lawrence and the 16th century Madonnawith Child sitting between St. George andNicholas of Bari.

The church of San Lorenzo atMontegufoni, close to the castle of theAcciaiolis, who were also the patrons of thechurch, was the original location of the pre-cious panel representing a Madonna withChild, a work attributed to the pupils ofLippo di Benivieni and of a rare 13th centu-ry gemellion (a pair of plates used to washthe hands during religious liturgy) fromLimoges show the influence of French art inthe area of Valdelsa. The second room isentirely dedicated to the churches of SantaMaria a Torre and San Bartolomeo aTresanti, both belonging to the same dis-trict. It displays works of a later period:some paintings of 17th century Florentineartists (paintings by Frilli Croci, Lupicini, ofthe school of Curradi etc.) along with thoseof the 18th century (the Adoration of the Magiby Niccolò Bambini). The third roomexhibits works from the churches of the dis-trict of Coeli Aula and San Pancrazio. Themost precious work is the small Madonnawith Child attributed to the late years ofFilippo Lippi. The church of Sant’Andrea aBotinaccio provided also the Triptych attrib-uted to the school of Bicci di Lorenzo,although this work was originally on displayin the church of San Michele a Quarantola.

An old baptismal font in marble, fromSanto Stefano a Lucignano, and other17th century paintings and silver orna-ments complete the collection exhibitedin this room. The artistic itinerary offeredby the museum ends with a section dedi-cated to vestments and documentarymaterial, which have been collected inthe museum mainly due to preservationreasons, since they are particularly deli-cate and sensitive to light and humidity.

176

THE MUSEUM OF SACRED ARTPARISH CHURCH OF SAN PIERO IN MERCATO

MONTESPERTOLI

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE - GUIDED TOURS FOR SCHOOLSCAN BE RESERVED BY PHONING 0571600230 MUNICIPAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TOURS CAN BE RESERVED AHEAD BY PHONING 0571600228 MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE

MUSEO DELLA CIVILTÀ

CONTADINA DI CASA D’ERCI

THE MUSEUM OF COUNTRY CIVILISATION OF CASA D’ERCILOC. GREZZANOBORGO SAN LORENZO

GUIDED TOURS CAN BE RESERVED AHEAD

PARCO DI PRATOLINO

VILLA DEMIDOFF

THE PARK OF PRATOLINO – VILLA DEMIDOFFVIA BOLOGNESE – PRATOLINOVAGLIA

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLECAFETERIA - BOOKSHOPGUIDED TOURS

Francis I Medici purchased the estateof Pratolino in 1568, appointingBuontalenti to transform it into a marvel-lous world for Bianca Cappello. Themechanical devices and water plays creat-ed by Buontalenti, both inside the villaand in the garden, declined and were thenheavily altered by order of the GrandDuke Ferdinando III Lorraine. At the endof the last century, Prince Paolo Demidoffpurchased the estate, transforming the“Paggeria” (the original abode of page-boys) into a villa, because the original one

had been destroyed. Even the park wasrestored after it had been transformed intoan English garden by the Lorraine family.

In 1981, the building became property ofthe Provincial Administration of Florenceand was opened to the public. The only orig-inal Renaissance elements that are still visi-ble are the gigantic statue of the Apennine byGiambologna and Aiuti, the lake, the stair-case dedicated to the divinity Pan, the chapelwith a central layout and dome, which wasdesigned by Buontalenti, and the mill.

179

The museum displays a very rich andinteresting collection of documentary mate-rial on the old rural world of Mugello.

The pieces refer to activities that arestrictly connected with agricultural lifelike stock breeding, land cultivation, crop-ping and threshing, besides offering inter-esting evidence of the activities carried outin cellars, barns, oil mills and of typicallydomestic activities such as weaving, spin-ning, washing and cooking. The museumalso exhibits a section dedicated to craft

activities and traditional trades like car-pentry, wheelwrighting, cask making,ironmongery and masonry. Among otherthings, the museum displays the recon-struction of several rooms, like bedrooms,cellars, kitchens, besides dedicating sever-al sections to wood cutting, popular reli-gion, carts and other means of transport,wood-related activities, school, tenant andphotographic tools, to offer a completeview of a culture that no longer exists, butabove all, to offer visitors accurate andreliable documentation.

178

The press (18th century)(Museo della civiltà contadina,

Grezzano)

GiambolognaTHE STATUE OF THE APENNINE

(Villa Demidoff)

The fireplace(Museo della civiltà contadina,

Grezzano)

MUGELLO, ALTO MUGELLO,VAL DI SIEVE

181

MUGELLO, ALTO MUGELLO,VAL DI SIEVEMUSEO DEI

FERRI TAGLIENTI

180

MUSEUM OF CUTTING TOOLSPALAZZO DEI VICARI

SCARPERIA

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLEBOOKSHOP

GUIDED TOURS TO THE MUSEUM ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS

For centuries knives have been a dis-tinctive trait of Scarperia. The first"Statutes of knife-makers" date back tothe 15th century. The production ofknives was the main economic resource ofthis town of the Mugello area, Scarperia,that soon became world-wide famous.

On display in the rooms of Palazzodei Vicari, the collection of the Museumof Cutting Tools aims at emphasisingthe material and vital aspects of eachobject rather than its aesthetic proper-ties. Visitors follow an itinerary thatallows them to handle, assemble anddisassemble knives.

The museum rooms are also an oppor-tunity to revisit the past, since they docu-ment the primary role played by knives inthe history and daily life of Scarperia.Special attention has been devoted to thereconstruction of working spaces and tothe social and family organisation derivedfrom the production of knives, while awide exhibition area is entirely dedicatedto the creations of the masters of Scarperia.

The "Bottega del coltellinaio" (TheKnife-maker's laboratory), close to themuseum, naturally ends the explorationof this tradition, represented in its earlyphases in Palazzo dei Vicari. In the labo-ratory, tradition becomes reality becausevisitors can follow directly all the stagesthat lead to the production of a knife.

Old cutler's shop

Old cutler's shop

MUSEO

CASA DI GIOTTO

THE MUSEUM – HOUSE OF GIOTTOLOC. VESPIGNANOVICCHIO

ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE. GUIDED TOURS CAN BE RESERVED AHEADBY PHONING 0558448251 (MUNICIPAL LIBRARY)

MUSEO DELLA VITA E DEL

LAVORO DELLE GENTI DI MONTAGNA

THE MUSEUM OF LIFE AND WORKOF MOUNTAIN PEOPLEPIAZZA ALPI 1 - PALAZZUOLO SUL SENIO

GUIDED TOURSCAN BE RESERVED AHEADBY PHONING 0558046114

183182

The House of Giotto (Vespignano)

Museum of the lifeand work of the people livingin the mountains (Palazzuolo)

MUGELLO, ALTO MUGELLO,VAL DI SIEVE

The small town of Vicchio has dedi-cated its main square and a monumentto Giotto, who is said to have born inthe neighbouring village of Vespignano.The birth house of the artist, subjectedto heavy restoration work over the

years, is in fact located in this small vil-lage, close to the church. The buildingnow preserves a documentary collec-tion on the life and works of the artist tofully satisfy the curiosity of visitors.

The collection of the objects thatnow form part of the museum's exhibi-tion, started in 1975 thanks to the ini-tiative of the Local Tourist AssociationPro Loco of Palazzuolo. In 1982 theMunicipal Administration offered themuseum the rooms of the Palazzo deiCapitani. The exhibition now covers 2

floors and takes up 10 rooms, display-ing 800 objects, including the small andperhaps most original aluminium dentalplate made in the thirties by a localcraftsman. The largest displayed objectis a water mill with two grinding sta-tions that takes up a whole room.

185

The archaeologicalexcavations of Frascole

MUGELLO, ALTO MUGELLO,VAL DI SIEVESCAVI ARCHEOLOGICI

DI “FRASCOLE”

184

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS OF “FRASCOLE”LOC. POGGIO DI FRASCOLE

DICOMANO

Poggio di Frascole represents one ofthe most important archaeological sitesof Mugello and Val di Sieve, and theonly one where researches were carriedout for over a decades with a reasonablecontinuity. All the works excavated fromthe archaeological sites have been syste-matically restored in view of the possibi-lity of opening the sites to the public.This phase has almost come to an endand the site is now open to visitors.

The area was already known to bean archaeological site at the end of the20th century, because of the sporadicyet extraordinary objects found. Theseincluded a series of ceramic fragmentswith Etruscan inscriptions. Literaryand archive documentation had clearlyidentified this area as the location of achurch dedicated to St. Martin, whichappeared to exist already at the end ofthe second half of the 13th century. Thechurch had been demolished in 1465and rebuilt lower in the valley in a villa-ge called Frascole, where it is still loca-ted. Documents did not howeverclearly state the exact location, althou-gh it would have been logic for it to bebuilt on the top of a hill.

The results of an accurate and capil-lary research, carried out in the sixtiesby the Archaeological Group ofDicomano, summoned the interventionof the Museum and Fine Arts

Department of Tuscany in 1972. At theend of 1978 systematic excavation andrestoration campaigns were organisedalmost every year. As a result it waspossible to bring back to light themedieval church, with a rectangularlayout, very modest dimensions yetwith a dignified stone paving. The exca-vations also revealed the existence of anEtruscan structure, with rectangularlayout, built with blocks and slabs oflocal sandstone.

MUSEO DELLA

CIVILTÀ CONTADINA

THE MUSEUM OF COUNTRY CIVILISATION OF GAVILLEPARISH CHURCH OF SAN ROMOLO A GAVILLEFIGLINE VALDARNO

VISITS FOR GROUPS OR SCHOOLS CAN BERESERVED AHEAD BY PHONING 0559501803BOOKSHOP

187

The ethnographic collection of Gavilleis displayed inside the parish church.Thecollection comprises 13 rooms with seve-ral pieces – over 3,500 objects, whichdocument the most important aspects ofthe rural life of the lower Valdarno.

The core of the collection is connec-ted with the production of olive oil. Thefirst room in fact exhibits an old oilpress that was originally driven by ani-mals, which is still intact.

186

A kitchen

Animal-driven olive press

VALDARNO

NOTESNOTES

NOTESNOTES