Experts' Choice Award Museo Nazionale del Bargello
What the experts agree on
Florence's former palace-turned-jail now houses Italy's finest Renaissance sculpture collection, with masterworks by Michelangelo, Donatello, and Giambologna. Often overlooked despite rivaling the Uffizi for importance.
“One of Florence's most important museums yet surprisingly under-appreciated, the Bargello houses one of the world's great collections of Florentine Renaissance sculpture. ”
– Travel + Leisure
Concierge "Today, the museum houses a fabulous collection of sculpture by Michelangelo, Donatello, Benvenuto Cellini, Giambologna, and others."
Travel + Leisure "What the Uffizi is to paintings, the Bargello is to sculpture: a storehouse of some of the greatest works in marble and bronze to come out of the Renaissance and Baroque eras." Full review
Fodor's "Houses the Museo Nazionale, home to what is probably the finest collection of Renaissance sculpture in Italy." Full review
Michelin Guide 3 Stars
"Palazzo del Podestà has a remarkable courtyard... is home to a museum of great importance." Full review
The Telegraph "The treasures inside include celebrated works such as Giambologna’s Mercury and Michelangelo’s Drunken Bacchus, as well as Donatello’s two Davids and his statue of Saint George.
" Full review
Afar Magazine "This forbidding building, once the city jail, is home to a superb sculpture collection." Full review
Condé Nast Traveler "Museo Nazionale del Bargello—which opened in 1865 by order of by royal decree, making it Italy’s first national museum—houses the city’s most important collection of Renaissance sculpture." Full review
Frommer's "Inside this 1255 Gothic palazzo is Florence's premier sculpture museum, with works by Michelangelo, the della Robbias, and Donatello." Full review
New York Times "Museo Nazionale del Bargello offers early-bird visitors a private audience with Donatello's bronze David statue. Michelangelo's David gets all the attention (and the attendant crowds) but..."
Lonely Planet "Important works such as Bacchus (1497), believed to be Michelangelo's first marble sculpture, and David-Apollo (1530–32) are housed inside Museo del Bargello"
