THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE BARGELLO

The palace was built in 1255 on commission of Fazione del Popolo (People Guard) as fortress and arsenal to hold out against noble family of Florence. It was the first monumental public building of the Council, which was the seat of the Podestà (the Chief Magistrate). In the sixteenth century became a prison (from which it acquired its current name, from the chief of police, the bargello, which means sbirro, cop), and in 1865 a superb collection of sculpture from the Florentine Renaissance and an assembly of small renaissance bronzes was installed, including works of art by Michelangelo, Donatello, Cellini and Gianbologna.

The walls of the medieval courtyard are decorated with the armorial symbol of the Podestà, and with sculptures from the sixteenth century, including the "L'Oceano (Ocean)" by Gianbologna which was once found at the Boboli gardens. A well stands in the center of courtyard, where executions were once held. From courtyard you can approach the first room with masterpieces by Michelangelo, "Tondo Pitti" and "Bacco", and many other mythological sculptures.

On the ground floor, there are works of art by Cellini and Giambologna, including his "Mercurio (Mercury)" and "Firenze vittoriosa su Pisa (Triumphant Florence over Pisa)".

On the first floor the Salone del Consiglio (the Council Hall) is characterised by its high ceiling and was once the tribunal hall. Here, you can find some of the finest works of Donatello such as the marble Youthful David, the St. George, carved for and once found on the external walls of the Orsanmichele. and the later, and more ambiguous, David in bronze.

On this floor you can visit the Ivory Room and its Carrand collection, 265 pieces that may be dated between V and XVII century a.D.: diptychs, ceramic tiles, holy cases. The second room houses the Bargello safe with precious wroughts from Carrand collection. From this room you enter Cappella of Maria Maddalena and its Sagrestia vestry where the condemned men waited for their death. The holy paintings on the wall are by Giotto's school. In the Islamic room you can take a glance at oriental carpets and examples of damascened bronze, some from grand-ducal collections. The museum displays its treasures among which extremely rare panel pieces and wooden sculptures, and Venetian glass. Very important too is the collection of maiolica from Urbino, Siena, Orvieto and Florence, in the maiolica room on the first floor.

On the second floor, there are many glazed terrecotte in two rooms, including the "Busto di fanciullo (Baby's bust)" by Andrea della Robbia. There is also an exhibition of Italian medals and a stupendous collection of small Renaissance bronzes. The Sala delle Armi contains fascinating medieval ivories and armoury and weapons.

Via del Proconsolo, 4

Opening: Tuesday to Saturday: 8.15-13.50, II and IV Sunday: 8.15-13.50; I, III and V Monday: 8.15-13.50

Closure: I and III Sunday, II and IV Monday, December 25th, January 1st and May 1st

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TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS

March 1st 2004 - June 16th 2004 RAPHAEL, CELLINI, AND A RENAISSANCE BANKER, THE PATRONAGE OF BINDO ALTOVITI.

Bindo Altoviti (1491-1557) is one of the most interesting patrons of the sixteenth-century Italy, although he is today very little known. One of the richest men in Renaissance Italy, he was banker to several popes, an administrator of the Papal States, a determined rival to the Medici dynasty, a close friend of Michelangelo, and a distinguished supporter of the arts in both Rome and Florence.

This exhibition examines the artistic patronage of Bindo Altoviti but also attempts to present a complete picture of his social, financial, and political life. The exhibition will include remarkable portraits of Bindo Altoviti by Raphael and Benvenuto Cellini, as well as works by Giorgio Vasari, Girolamo da Carpi, and Jacopino del Conte.

In particular, the two portraits by Raphael and Cellini capture not only the taste but the personality of Bindo. They are dramatically contrasted: Raphael depicted Bindo as an ideal, beautiful Florentine youth, almost feminine in its grace (National Gallery of Art, Washington). Benvenuto Cellini's over life-size bronze bust (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston) shows Bindo as a stoic, world-weary figure - like some ancient philosopher. Also included in the exhibition is Cellini's contemporaneous portrait of Bindo's archrival, Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (Museo del Bargello), which is larger and much more aggressively militaristic. The exhibition will thus bring together Cellini's only two known portrait busts.

Examples of decorative arts will enrich the project: a maiolica plate decorated with the arms of Bindo and his wife Fiammetta Soderini, who was from an important Florentine family, and a pietre dure table designed by Vasari. Drawings by Vasari will represent the important ceiling designs made for Bindo's palace and villa.

This intimate, focused exhibition of 24 works will explore the interrelationships and connections between powerful works of art - how they conform to defined categories and the ways they break new ground in the portrayal of the individual. How did Bindo Altoviti want himself represented? How did his financial activities, political idealism (he supported the overthrow of Medici rule in Florence), and status as an exile affect his collecting and patronage? One of the most striking aspects of Altoviti's activities is that they touch upon many crucial issues in the Renaissance, from the power exercised by bankers, to the peculiar role of political exiles in Italian political life.

The exhibition is the first full-scale study of this topic, and essays by several important scholars will discuss a series of interrelated themes.