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Small Museums in Florence
- Thread starter Ann R
- Start date
Anne
100+ Posts
Not exactly off the beaten track, but two that I love are the Bargello and the Ospedale degli Innocenti. I found both museums interesting historically and architecturally, and both contain some amazing works of art.
The Ospedale used to be an orphanage, and you can still see where infants could be dropped off in a basin on a rotating wheel (so they could be dropped off anonymously). Ghirlandaio's gorgeous Adoration of the Magi is perhaps the masterpiece of the Ospedale, but there is a graceful Botticelli also. I had the Ospedale almost entirely to myself one October afternoon a few years ago. It's very small, but I lingered for a long time over the Ghirlandaio, and also enjoyed watching some children playing in the larger of two cloisters. It lies along one side of Piazza Santissima Annunziata, so could be combined with a visit to the basilica SS Annunziata.
The Bargello is a former prison and (I think) military barracks. Michelangelo's Bacchus and Donatello's David are two of my favourite sculptures, both are housed in the Bargello. David was being restored on one of my visits a few years ago, and they were doing the restoration right in the museum, in a space closed off with plexiglass, so the public could observe. It was fascinating!
The Ospedale used to be an orphanage, and you can still see where infants could be dropped off in a basin on a rotating wheel (so they could be dropped off anonymously). Ghirlandaio's gorgeous Adoration of the Magi is perhaps the masterpiece of the Ospedale, but there is a graceful Botticelli also. I had the Ospedale almost entirely to myself one October afternoon a few years ago. It's very small, but I lingered for a long time over the Ghirlandaio, and also enjoyed watching some children playing in the larger of two cloisters. It lies along one side of Piazza Santissima Annunziata, so could be combined with a visit to the basilica SS Annunziata.
The Bargello is a former prison and (I think) military barracks. Michelangelo's Bacchus and Donatello's David are two of my favourite sculptures, both are housed in the Bargello. David was being restored on one of my visits a few years ago, and they were doing the restoration right in the museum, in a space closed off with plexiglass, so the public could observe. It was fascinating!