Bargello

About this place

The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello or Palazzo del Popolo, is a former public building and police headquarters, later a prison, in Florence, Italy. Mostly built in the 13th century, since 1865 it has housed the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, a national art museum. It is the primary national collection for Italian Renaissance sculpture, of which its collection of Florentine works is unequalled, and for the decorative arts of Florence, especially from the Renaissance period. There are also works from earlier and later periods. The medieval building is relatively well preserved, and includes the Cappella della Maddalena with extensive but damaged frescos by Giotto, including a full-length portrait of Dante. Notice how the building presents itself to the surrounding streets or landscape, then compare its public and more intimate spaces. This helps explain how architecture expressed the position, resources and ambitions of the people who commissioned it.