Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This underappreciated sculpture museum is in a former police station-turned-prison that
looks like a mini-Palazzo Vecchio. The Renaissance began with sculpture—the great
Florentine painters were “sculptors with brushes.” You can see the birth of this revolution of
3-D in the Bargello (bar-JEL-oh), which boasts the best collection of Florentine sculpture.
It's a small, uncrowded museum and a pleasant break from the intensity of the rest of
Florence.
The Bargello has Donatello's very influential, painfully beautiful
David
(the first male
nudetobesculptedinathousandyears),worksbyMichelangelo,androomsofMedicitreas-
ures. Moody Donatello, who embraced realism with his lifelike statues, set the personal and
artistic style for many Renaissance artists to follow. The best pieces are in the ground-floor
room at the foot of the outdoor staircase (with fine works by Michelangelo, Cellini, and Gi-
ambologna)andinthe“Donatelloroom”directlyabove(withplentybyDonatello,including
twodifferent
David
s,plusGhibertiandBrunelleschi'srevolutionaryduelingdoorpanelsand
yet another
David
by Verrocchio).
Cost and Hours:
€4, €7 with mandatory exhibits, covered by Firenze Card, Tue-Sat
8:15-13:50, until 16:50 during special exhibits (generally April-Oct); also open first, third,
and fifth Mon and the second and fourth Sun of each month; last entry 30 minutes be-
fore closing, reservations possible but unnecessary, audioguide-€6 (€10/2 people), photos
in courtyard only, Via del Proconsolo 4, reservation tel. 055-238-8606,
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the poet who gave us
The Divine Comedy,
is the Shakespeare
of Italy, the father of the modern Italian language, and the face on the country's €2 coin.
However,mostAmericansknowlittleofhim,andthismuseumisnottheidealplacetostart.
Even though it has English information, this small museum (in a building near where he
likely lived) assumes visitors have prior knowledge of the poet. It's not a medieval-flavored
house with period furniture—it's just a small, low-tech museum about Dante. Still, Dante
lovers can trace his interesting life and works through pictures, models, and artifacts. And
becausetheexhibitsareasmuchaboutmedievalFlorenceastheyareabouttheman,novices
can learn a little about Dante and the city he lived in.
CostandHours:
€4,coveredbyFirenzeCard;April-Septdaily10:00-18:00;Oct-March
Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, closed Mon; last entry 30 minutes before closing, near the Bargello at
Via Santa Margherita 1, tel. 055-219-416,
www.museocasadidante.it
.
