The Bargello Museum - David Donatello

The Bargello Museum, or Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo (Palace of the People's Captain), is the oldest government building in the city of Florence. It dates back to 1255, and was built on the orders of the Vasari from the designs of a certain Lapo, father of Arnolfo di Cambio.

Until 1502, it was the residence of the Podestà, the magistrate who governed the city, and then it became the seat of the Council of Justice, whose head was known as the “Bargello”. Its prisons remained in use until 1857, when they were finally moved to the former convent of Le Murate. The complete restoration of the building was begun through the work of the architect Francesco Mazzei.

The beautiful lodge, known as “Verone”, was built between 1317 and 1320 from the designs of Tone di Giovanni. In 1886, the decision was made to use it as a sculpture museum, and works by Donatello, including his marvellous bronze David, made in around 1430, and works by other sculptors of the Florentine Renaissance, were collected in the hall of the Maggior Consiglio (Major Council). It became the recipient of important donations: Louis Cannand, the French antique collector, gave Gothic and Renaissance objects, Costantino Ressman donated collections of arms, and Giulio Franchetti contributed his collection of fabrics, with some examples from the sixth century.

The Michelangelo Room houses works by the great master, the ‘Drunk Bacchus’ and the ‘Virgin with child and St. John’, with works also by Cellini, Sansovino, Gianbalonga and Verocchio. The exhibition of the majolica collection is also important, and many of them originate from the Medici collection, which makes it one of the most complete.



See also: Michelangelo's David Tour

See also: Uffizi Gallery Tour