Museo Nazionale del Bargello

The Museo Nazionale del Bargello occupies one of the oldest public buildings in Florence, a severe medieval palazzo that served for centuries as the city's seat of government and later as a prison before being transformed into Italy's first national museum in 1865. Its stone courtyard, with an open loggia and a well at its centre, sets the tone for a collection that ranks among the finest of Renaissance sculpture anywhere in the world.

Inside, the Bargello holds an extraordinary concentration of works by Donatello, including his bronze David, one of the defining sculptures of the Florentine Renaissance, alongside pieces by Michelangelo, Cellini, and Giambologna. The museum's rooms trace the full arc of Italian decorative and applied arts, from ivories and bronzes to majolica and armour. Visitors can currently explore the collection as part of a guided city tour that combines an introduction to Florence's streets with skip-the-line entry to the Bargello itself.