Architecture,  Art,  Italy

Two Florentine museums, and a chapel

December 17, 2025 / 30 Comments

For fifty years, I have done nothing else but earn money and spend money; and it became clear that spending money gives me greater pleasure than earning it.

Attributed to Cosimo de’ Medici

Mention a visit to Florence to anyone and they will likely ask, did you go to the Uffizi? did you visit the Galleria dell’Accademia to see David? With good reason, as they hold a myriad of treasures. But they are not the only great museums in the city, and others come with their own plus points. Less crowded, more intimate and on an easier scale to digest in a single visit. Oh, and you don’t need to book ahead!

So here is a look at three of the alternatives that we chose to visit.

Museo Nazionale del Bargello

This is a small museum in comparison to the Uffizi perhaps, but it still managed to keep us occupied for several hours. For one thing, the building itself is worth seeing. It’s the oldest public building in the city, built in 1255 to serve as the first public building in medieval Florence. It was the seat of the Podestà, the chief city magistrates whose coats of arms are still set in the walls of the courtyard.

Courtyard of the Museo Nazionale del Bargello

Later it became the seat of the Bargello, the head of the city police, and was used as a prison for several centuries. In 1865 it was restored and opened as the first National Museum of the then newborn Kingdom of Italy, dedicated to the arts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Since then the collection has grown to include objects such as weapons, textiles and religious treasures in addition to paintings and sculptures.

As I mentioned, we spent some time here. Photography is allowed throughout (without flash), so here are some of my favourite exhibits.

Madonna and Child c 1300-10, Umbrian

Virgin Praying c 1490

French navigation tools in ivory, 14th century

Early 11th century French crosier head, carved in ivory

The Cappella del Podestà with frescoes by Giotto

St Jerome Penitent by Giotto, Cappella del Podestà

St George by Donatello, 1416

A sign explained that this piece marks the first time the artistic principles of the Renaissance appeared in a sculpture. It drew contrasts with his Gothic-style David of just a few years previously (below).

Madonna and Child by Donatello, c 1450-55

David by Donatello, 1409

The sign told us that this was the first large-scale work by Donatello, intended for the buttresses of the cathedral’s apses, but instead placed in the Palazzo Vecchio. In it David acts as a symbol for the strengths and ideals of the Florentine Republic against tyranny.

Ganymede by Bartolomeo Ammannati, c 1560

Madonna and Child by della Robbia

Bacchus by Michelangelo, 1496-97

This work by a young Michelangelo reflects his fascination with ancient statuary.

Madonna and Child with the young St John (Pitti Tondo), by Michelangelo

This piece was commissioned by a merchant, Bartolomeo Pitti, soon after Michelangelo finished David, but the artist left Florence for Rome without ever finishing it.

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

The palazzo is named for two families, the Medici and the Riccardi. It was commissioned in 1444 by Cosimo the Elder to be the Medicis’ main residence in the city. The design was chosen by Cosimo as being not too pretentious as that ‘might have aroused the envy of his fellow citizens instead of being an example of beauty and an ornament for the city or, more simply, a comfortable dwelling’. Some comfortable dwelling this is!

The courtyard garden

In 1494, when the Medici were expelled from the city, the palace and all the family’s assets, including Donatello’s bronze David, were seized by the Republic of Florence. But they regained power in 1512 and the palace became once again their official residence until 1540, when the Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici decided to move to Palazzo della Signoria (today known as the Palazzo Vecchio).

The residence was bought by the Marquis Gabriello Riccardi who deemed it too dull, even grim, by the flamboyant style of the times. He had the palace completely renovated, in particular its interiors, to suit Baroque tastes. By 1810 the Riccardi family had fallen on harder times so sold the palace to the state. It was converted into administrative and institutional headquarters and still houses local government offices today. But it is also a fabulous museum!

Here, again, are a few of my favourite works of art.

La Madonna con Bambino, by Filippo Lippi

(hard to photograph as it’s displayed in a glass box)

Drawing by Filippo Lippi on the reverse of La Madonna con Bambino

(hence the reason for the glass box display)

Madonna con Bambino by an unknown Tuscan artist

I loved the little dog being given a drink!

And here are the two most spectacular rooms!

Chapel of the Magi

This was where the Medicis came to worship in private. The altarpiece painting, Adoration of the Child (or Adoration in the Forest), was created by Filippo Lippi’s workshop. The frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli depict some illustrious people of the time but also echo the journey of the Magi to Bethlehem.

Cappella dei Magi

The altarpiece painting, Adoration of the Child (or Adoration in the Forest), created by Filippo Lippi’s workshop, and details of some of the Gozzoli frescoes

La Galleria degli Specchi (Mirror Gallery)

This magnificent room was part of Gabriello Riccardi’s renovations. The vaulted ceiling was frescoed by the major Baroque painter of the time, Luca Giordano (1682-1685). At the centre is a tribute to the Medici family while around it are mythological scenes along the edges and depictions of the four Cardinal Virtues in the corners. I was happy to spot an elephant among the details, although I’m not sure which virtue he is helping to represent!

My feature photo was also taken here.

La Galleria degli Specchi: ceiling details

Cappelle Medicee

I promised you a chapel in my title, in addition to those museums, but actually I can offer two chapels! The Medici Chapels were the burial place of the Medici family and today have been declared a national monument. They were built between the 16th and 17th centuries as an extension to the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

Basilica di San Lorenzo

There are two chapels, the Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy) and the Cappella dei Principi. The former is smaller and more understated, with the tombs and sculptural groups dominating the small space. It was designed as a whole by Michaelangelo who also created the monuments and four tombs, one on each wall. These house the remains of Lorenzo the Magnificent, his brother Giuliano, Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, the last of the Magnificent family dynasty.

Madonna and Child by Michelangelo

On the tomb of Giuliano and Lorenzo the Magnificent

Michelangelo’s Tomb of Lorenzo de’ Medici Duke of Urbino

With Night and Day

Michelangelo’s Twilight, on the tomb of Giuliano, Duke of Nemours

The Cappella dei Principi in contrast is huge and ornate, almost overwhelming in its use of multi-coloured marbles and semi-precious stones. The painting on the altar depicts the Supper at Emmaus, while the dome has a cycle of frescoes that detail scenes in the life of Jesus.

The Cappella dei Principi

I visited Florence in October/November 2025

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