The Bargello began as a civic palace in the
13th Century, later the residence of the Bargello family, then a
prison in the 18th Century, and finally a museum in 1865. This
museum contains 30,000 pieces of art including the most
comprehensive collection of medieval and Renaissance
sculpture in Italy. Most famous works include Donatello’s David,
Michelangelo’s Bacchus, Brutus and Madonna & Child.
The museum has three floors. The first floor is dedicated to Tuscan
master sculptors, including Michelangelo, Cellini, Bandinelli and Ammannati.
Other floors house varied collections that include Renaissance jewelry, enamels
and ivories, Venetian glass, Islamic bronzes and wooden sculptures.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo)
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore,
known popularly as the Duomo. In the fourth largest cathedral in the world and
dominates the skyline of Florence. The copula was designed by the great renaissance architect,
Brunelleschi, who used entirely new methods of dome building. The dome of the
cathedral was the largest in the world at the time of its construction in 1420.
It served as a model for later domes, including the one that now surmounts St.
Peters Basilica in Rome. Nearby is the bell tower, which can be climbed by those with a
certain stamina and which affords a good view of Florence. The
baptistery is famous for its bronze doors covered with bas reliefs, known as
the Gates of Paradise.
Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio is a covered bridge that
spans the Arno dating back from 1245. It has been a shopping way filled with gold
and jewelry shops since the 16th Century. It is certainly not a
place for bargain hunters, but it is a paradise for window shoppers.
Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace) and Boboli Gardens
The Pitti Palace was
built by Brunelleschi for the Pitti family in the early 15th
Century. The palace was later acquired by the Medici and is now the site of a
number of museums. The Pitti Palace showcases the fine art collection of the Medici family, which
includes a number of state rooms and costumes.
The Boboli Gardens, which
are next to the palace, are in the renaissance style, with pools, fountains,
grottos, a Belvedere, and geometric landscaping.