The obligatory view of Florence from the Campanile, bell tower of the Duomo.

Painted, sculpted, constructed, there is an overabundance of impressive art, art that is part and parcel to the history and existence of the town. The Uffizi and it’s never ending halls, the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio and the Galleria del’Accademia, which is home to the David, and a seemingly endless list of other art museums and historic buildings it can feel like the town itself can just charge admission at the gate and call itself a museo.

For all the art museums and historic sites to see my favorite is one that combines both, the National Museum of the Bargello.

Located a few blocks from of the Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio, Bargello houses Renaissance works in a miniature medieval fortress whose history is intertwined with that of the city.

Work on what is now Bargello, the Palazzo Pretorio, began in 1255. This was at a time when Florence was an independent republic fought over by two factions, had just recently rid itself of Holy Roman imperial rule and then introduced the first widely circulated European gold coin, the Florin. Given these circumstances it made sense that Palazzo Pretorio would be built as if to withstand a siege. Originally it was the home of Florence’s first Captain of the People and in 1261 the chief magistrate was also housed at the Palazzo.

It housed city officials until 1574 when it became a prison and home to the Chief of Justice. This was a period of decay that saw Bargello’s halls converted into cells and its chapel plastered over. In the 1840s restoration work began on the prison, which by now was Florence’s oldest public building. It became a full-time art museum in 1865, when Florence became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

Signs of all these former lives are scattered throughout Bargello. Coats of arms from past magistrates and judges adorn the courtyard walls, rooms have been changed in accordance with tastes or necessity and the audio tour pointed out where executions were held in the courtyard.

The Bargello is a medieval frame for Renaissance art. Some of it is overflow from the Uffizi, so it’s the “typical” collection in a place where the typical is extraordinary by most standards. You know what to expect, so I’ll instead focus on what makes Bargello unique, such as its Islamic Room.

Muslims traders and craftsmen were an important part of Florence during and before the Renaissance, and the works displayed here show off some of the quality metal and tile work imported here or produced by Muslim or Moorish craftsman working in Italy at the time. Having lived in the Middle East I like Islamic art, the detailed patterns and focus which instead of being on recreating people is on creating intricate designs with great detail, it makes for a nice counter-point in style to the native Italian arts.

The collection that impressed me the most were the sculptures. Many are works by names even people whose only knowledge of Renaissance art came from the Ninja Turtles, such as Michelangelo and Donatello. They even have a David. Donatello’s David, made of bronze but still David.

Until coming to Florence I didn’t really appreciate sculptures but the Florentine mastery of the human form, expression and movement impressed me in a way I didn’t expect to be. A painting can depict a scene from an angle, but a sculpture let you see every possible way that scene could have played out. Your impression of it can also change based on distance or position. The best example of this is Michelangelo’s David who’s expression, dependent on where you are when you look at it, can be confident or innocent or something else only you seem to see.

My favorite work at Bargello is Giambologna’s Florence Triumphant over Pisa, a derivative of an early Michelangelo work. Today Florence is known for giving us the Renaissance and Pisa is best known for shoddy architecture, but once the two cities were bitter rivals that would occasionally war with each other.

Cosimo de’Medici, supreme backroom ruler of Renaissance Florence, commissioned Giambologna, a Flemish artist who came to Italy to refine his craft, to create this physical expression of why Florence was vastly superior to Pisa for a wedding in 1565. It depicts hip, young and sexy Florence physically dominating old, arthritic and probably incontinent Pisa.

Even before seeing Florence Triumphant I’d taken notice of Giambologna’s style visiting other Florentine museums and made it a point to find as many of his works as I could. The Bargello has several from him and his student Pietro Francavilla, who’s Jason is outside on the loggia, where all good statues were meant to be. (Before becoming national treasures, anyway.)

Fans of Donatello and Michelangelo will be pleased to find Bargello has given each their own room with some of their lesser, but no less impressive, works on display.

I’d be amiss not to mention the restored Magdalene’s Chapel, which was plastered over and split into quarters and a store room until the 1840s. Though home to a collection of fine religious art, the biggest and most impressive piece is the room itself with its floor to ceiling frescoes by Giotto and includes a portrait of the poet Dante worked into it. The rediscovery of Dante’s portrait resulted in the room’s renovation, paving the way for the prison to be reborn as an art museum.

Part of the chapel fresco

Visiting the Bargello I highly recommend getting the audio guide and taking your time. I glossed over most of the building’s history and every room has its own special history on top of whatever may be inside it. It was interesting to note how room personalities changed from space to space, some had a distinctly medieval feel to them while others reflected later periods in the building’s long life.

There’s no good angle for shooting this museum as its hemmed in on three sides by tight streets. The entrance is the door on the right.