The Bargello Museum in Florence is part of the group of museums belonging to the Polo Museale Fiorentino and is an art museum dedicated to the "applied" arts. The Bargello Museum is located in Palazzo Bargello in the old city and was built in 1255 to be the seat of the city’s administration.
Palazzo Bargello is the name of the building that was designed by architect Lapo Tedesco. The building from administrative offices became home to the city’s police force and so remained from the 16th to the 19th century. It was the center of the city’s justice system and a vast area of the building became the city’s prison. A great part of the Volognana Tower, part of Palazzo Bargello, was where the prisoners were mostly held. Its name is, in fact, the name of the first prisoner ever to be detained in its dungeons, Geri da Volognana. The tower reaches a good 57 meters and the bell on top was for centuries used to call the city’s men to battle or to announce capital executions. In 1865 the first floor of Palazzo Bargello became a public museum and since then the collection has expanded and its value grown exponentially.
The National Museum of Bargello has its collection divided into various halls, each with a chronological theme. Each room is dedicated to a certain century and/or artist. Great artists like Michelangelo, Carrand, Donatello, Andrea and Giovanni della Robbia have rooms dedicated to them and to artists who are contemporary with them. From pre-Renaissance art to the 16th century the collection continues with displays of art of the Islamic Collection, of 15th-century sculptures, bronze artifacts, paintings and objects from various historical periods made of precious elements and materials.
