In Florence, there are more than 70 museums and such a dense concentration of objects related to art, there is nowhere else in the world. This, in turn, raises the real problem of choice among travelers who visit the city for only 1-2 days. In order to make it easier for you to navigate, BlogoItaliano has selected 7 museums in Florence that deserve attention in the first place.
Before we go directly to the museums and collections themselves, we note that Florence is also a whole galaxy of outstanding religious sites. We did not include them in this list, but dedicated a separate article to them - 10 of the most notable churches and cathedrals in Florence.
Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery is famous for its queues almost more than the masterpieces that are stored in its walls.
Millions of tourists from all over the world are ready to stand at the entrance for hours to see the famous canvases by Botticelli and Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Rafael, Titian and Caravaggio, Durer and El Greco.
50 halls, 2000 exhibits and 2 million visitors a year - this is the most famous gallery in Florence, which is also considered the oldest museum of painting in Europe.
The first collections were exhibited in 1581 under Francesco I Medici - almost immediately after the completion of the gallery.
Uffizi Gallery - 50 halls and 2000 masterpieces
Paradoxically, the building was originally conceived for completely different purposes - it was planned to place the offices of Florentine judges (hence the name "uffizi", that is, "offices"). The museum collection became available to the general public after almost two centuries - in 1765.
“The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli, “Annunciation” by Leonardo da Vinci, “The Holy Family” by Michelangelo, “Portrait of Leo X” by Raphael, “Venus Urbinskaya” by Titian, “Bacchus” by Caravaggio - these are just a few masterpieces for which it’s worth standing a long queue in the gallery Uffizi.
You can write about the Gallery endlessly and BlogoItaliano dedicated a separate article to it. By the way, tickets to the Gallery can be purchased online. This will save you time in Florence and allow you to see more.
- Opening hours: Tue-Sun: 8: 15-18: 50
- The museum is closed: January 1, May 1, December 25 and Mondays.
- Address: Piazzale degli Uffizi.
Bargello Palace
As far as the Uffizi Gallery is famous for its collection of paintings, so is the Bargello Palace famous for its sculptures.
The National Museum of Sculpture was opened in an old building of the 13th century in 1865. Prior to this, the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo (1255) was used as the residence of the chief of police, as well as the maintenance of prisoners and the placement of soldiers' barracks.
Connoisseurs of sculpture will find here one of Michelangelo's first works - marble sculpture of the god of wine "Bacchus", bronze "David" by Donatello, as well as numerous masterpieces of Brunelleschi, Cellini and Giamboloni.
The sculpture museum is housed in an old building of the 13th century
The sculptural collection is complemented by a collection of tapestries and Arabic carpets, precious stones, terracottas and ivory figures, as well as an exposition of knightly vestments and weapons.
- Opening hours: Mon-Sun: 8: 15-17: 00;
- Closed: every 2nd and 4th Sunday and every 1st, 3rd and 5th Monday of the month
- Address: Via del Proconsolo, 4
| Check schedule and availability of tickets ››› |
Palazzo pitti
The Pitti Palace is a museum complex that includes the Palatine Gallery, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Silver Museum, the Porcelain Museum, the Carriage Museum and the Costume Gallery.
All expositions are located on the territory of the palace, built in the middle of the 15th century for the Pitti family, and a century later it became the main residence of the Dukes of Medici. Over the centuries, the palace was completed and expanded, gradually acquiring a modern look.
The Palatine Gallery boasts a collection of 500 masterpieces of world painting located in 30 halls. The main part of the exposition consists of the works of Raphael, for whom a stay in Florence has become one of the most fruitful periods in his work.
Palazzo Pitti is a museum complex
It also contains works by Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio, Andrea del Sarto and other artists of the XVI-XVII centuries, who worked on the Medici.
The contemporary art gallery, which occupies another 30 halls of the palace, acquaints visitors with paintings and sculptures from the late 18th - early 20th centuries, including works by representatives of the Macchiaioli movement: Giovanni Fattori, Telemaco Signorini, Silvestro Lega and others.
The Museum of Silver contains the most valuable objects from the treasures of the Medici house: rock crystal vases, precious stones, reliquaries and furniture.
In the Costume Gallery you can see how European fashion has changed over the past three centuries.
In the halls of the Palatine Gallery - the work of artists of the XVI-XVII centuries.
Another unusual open-air museum located next to the Pitti Palace is the Boboli Gardens, created in the 16th century for the owners of the palace. The streets, buried in the colors and crowns of trees, feature numerous sculptures from around the world and fountains that delight guests with water games.
Tickets to Pitti Palace and tickets to Boboli Gardens are purchased separately.
- Opening hours of the Palazzo Pitti: Tue-Sun: 8: 15-18: 50, Mon - day off. The museum is also closed on January 1 and December 25.
- Opening hours of Boboli Gardens: Tue-Sun: 8: 15-16: 30 (November, December, January, February), 8: 15-17: 30 (March, October), 8: 15-18: 30 (April, May, September), 8 : 15-18: 50 (June, July, August). Weekends: Mondays, January 1 and December 25.
- Palazzo Pitti Address: Piazza Pitti, 1
| Check schedule and availability of tickets ››› |
Academy Gallery
In 1561, Giorgio Vasari, Agnolo Bronzino and Bartolomeo Ammanati founded the Academy of Fine Arts, where artists, sculptors, architects, as well as craftsmen making musical instruments came from all over Europe.
Two centuries later, the Academy was moved to a more spacious building, where today the Gallery of the same name is located.
The most valuable exhibit of the museum is the original of "David" by Michelangelo, who is assigned a separate gallery. It also houses his Pietra Palestrina and statues created for St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Michelangelo's "David" - the most valuable exhibit of the Gallery
Michelangelo’s work is complemented by paintings of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, including works by Botticelli, Skeggi, Perugino and others.
As a tribute to the music department of the Academy, from which the Conservatory of Florence was subsequently formed, the exposition also includes a collection of antique musical instruments.
Tickets to the Academy Gallery can be purchased online on this page.
- Opening hours: Tue-Sun: 8: 15-18: 50, Mon - day off
- Address: Via Ricasoli, 58-60
| Check schedule and availability of tickets ››› |
Dante House Museum
It’s worth mentioning right away: the building in which Dante’s House-Museum is located today was built only a little over a century ago, in the 1910s.
Therefore, to tell your friends that you walked along the same rooms and stairs where you once composed your great works by Dante Alighieri will not work. But you can definitely plunge into the life and work of the great poet of the Middle Ages and get acquainted with the historical and cultural environment of his time.
However, despair is also not worth it: the real house of Dante in this place once really was.
The house and corner of the street where Dante Alighieri lived were restored in 1965.
The construction of the museum building was preceded by the painstaking work of archaeologists to collect information about how Dante's house actually looked and where it was exactly. By 1965, not only the house itself was restored, but also the entire corner of the street where Dante Alighieri lived.
On three floors of the building of the Dante Alighieri Museum House, copies of manuscripts and illustrations for his works, as well as furniture, paintings, weapons and other items of that era, are stored.
A separate part of the exhibition is dedicated to the beautiful Beatrice - the main character of the Divine Comedy and the real woman whom Dante met in the nearby church of Santa Maria.
- Opening hours: Tue-Fri: 10: 00-17: 00, Sat-Sun: 10: 00-18: 00 (from November 1 to March 31), Mon-Sun: 10: 00-18: 00 (from April 1 to October 30 )
- Address: Via Santa Margherita, 1
Palazzo Vecchio
An ancient building of the XIV century, which has long served as the residence of the authorities, and today continues to perform administrative functions. However, most of the fortress, nevertheless, is occupied by the museum.
The palace tower, towering almost 100 meters above the city, once belonged to the Feraboski family and only later was included in the palace design.
Here, bells of the 13th century have been preserved to this day, but the large clock of the 17th century decorating one of the walls of the tower is just a copy of the original work of the 14th century Florentine craftsman Bernardo.
A stern-looking Romanesque fortress for a long time served no less severe purposes: prisoners were kept in the tower of the palace (including Cosimo de Medici and Savonarola), and conspirators were hung on the windows.
The museum occupies most of the ancient fortress (XIV century.)
Since 1540, the palace began to belong to the Medici family, but after 25 years, the Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I moved his residence to the Palazzo Pitti, and the Palazzo Ducale (i.e. the Ducal Palace) turned into the Palazzo Vecchio (i.e. the Old Palace).
The Museum of the Old Palace is devoted primarily to the history of Florence, but here you can also find a number of famous paintings and sculptures, including frescoes by Vasari and Bronzino, statues by Michelangelo and Donatello, as well as tapestries, an old map of the world and violins by Stradivari and Amati .
The Museum for Boys is also open in the Palazzo Vecchio building, where young visitors are introduced to the history and art of the city in a playful way.
- Opening hours:
- Museum and archaeological site: Mon-Sun: 9: 00-19: 00 (from October to March), Mon-Sun: 9: 00-23: 00 (from April to September), Thu - a day off.
- Loeser Bequest Mezzanine: Mon-Sun: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Thu and holidays: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Tower and fortifications (for persons over 6 years old): Mon-Sun: 10: 00-17: 00, Thu: 10: 00-14: 00 (from October to March); Mon-Sun: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Thu: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. (April to September)
- Address: Piazza della Signoria
Museum of San Marco
The Museum of San Marco occupies the building of the former Dominican monastery, rebuilt according to the project of the beloved architect Cosimo the Elder Medici - Michelozzo (1396-1472).
The monk Beato Angelico lived here for a long time, and today the museum has a complete collection of his paintings, including the famous Annunciation and the Last Judgment.
The museum is located in the building of the former Dominican monastery
The wall paintings in cells on the second floor, partly made by Fra Angelico himself, and partly by his students, have also been preserved. In addition to the frescoes, the museum also holds a number of manuscripts.
- Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 8: 15-13: 50, Sat-Sun, holidays: 8: 15-18: 50;
- The museum is closed: every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday and every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month; January 1, May 1 and December 25.
- Address: Piazza San Marco, 3
Useful articles about the city
- What to see in Florence on your own in 1 day
- How to get from Rome to Florence
- 5 best hotels in the center of Florence, where they speak Russian
- 5 most interesting excursions in Florence
Photos by: Alejandro, Erin Brierley, Olivier Bruchez, Michael Merideth, Roundabout.
