Planning a trip to Florence? Here’s my guide to the best museums in Florence. In my visits over the years, I have personally visited all these museums and individual guides for many of them that I’ve linked to below.
Florence is an overwhelmingly beautiful city, the “Cradle of the Renaissance.” With the best Medieval and Renaissance art in Europe, Florence is a veritable art lovers paradise.
Popularized on the 17th century “grand tours,” Florence is now a mandatory, and oh so wonderful, stop on a Tuscany road trip.
There are countless important artistic masterpieces in Florence. You can be seduced by Botticelli and awed by Michelangelo, in a time tunnel experience. If you’re like me, you simply can’t get enough.
Let’s peak behind the elegant facades and tour Florence’s must see museums. We’ll visit frescoed churches and elegant palaces. The architecture is almost as magnificent as the art.
Best World Class Museums in Florence
1. Uffizi Gallery
Florence is synonymous with the Renaissance period of art history. The Uffizi is its the best museum in Florence and the third most visited site in all of Italy. For art lovers, the Uffizi is a revered place of pilgrimage.
The Uffizi houses the collection of the Medici, a wealthy family of art patrons that ruled Florence for three centuries. The museum has seminal works from the 13th to 18th centuries.
Some of the world’s most famous paintings are in the Uffizi — Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera, Titian’s Venus of Urbino, Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation, Caravaggio’s Medusa and Bacchus, Piero della Francesca’s unflattering portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino, and Raphael’s Goldfinch Madonna.
READ: The 30 Most Important Paintings in Florence
The Uffizi consists of 45 halls of art spread over two floors of the palace. If you have limited time, you should focus your efforts.
The must see halls include the Hall 2 (Giotto), Hall 8 (Lippi), Hall 10-14 (Botticelli), Hall 15 (Leonardo), Hall 35 (Michelangelo), Hall 66 (Raphael), Hall 83 (Titian), and Hall 90 (Caravaggio).
Here’s my complete guide to the Uffizi Gallery, which includes must see masterpieces and tips and tricks for visiting.
Here’s my complete guide to the Uffizi Gallery, with important tips for visiting. I also have a guide to DIY preparation for visiting the Uffizi.
Click here to pre-book a timed entry ticket. On my last visit, I took this 2 hour guided tour and it was wonderful, especially if you’re not an expert on Renaissance art.
Other tour options include:
- a 1.5 hour small group guided tour
- a 2 hour small group guided tour
- a 2 hour early entry guided tour (8:30 am)
- a combined tour of the Uffizi + Brunelleschi’s dome
- a 5 hour tour of both the Uffizi and the Accademia
Address: Piazzale degli Uffizi 6
Hours:
Open daily 8:15 am to 6:50 pm Tuesday-Sunday, closed Mondays and holidays. In the summer, to accommodate crowds, the Uffizi sometimes stays open until 11:00 pm a couple nights per week.
Entry fee: € 25
2. Galleria dell’Accademia
After the Uffizi, the Accademia Gallery is Florence’s most visited museum. People flock in to see what is probably the world’s most famous sculpture, Michelangelo’s commanding statue of David.
The 17 foot sculpture is considered the embodiment of male beauty, a Calvin Klein-like model of physical perfection.
David was commissioned for Florence Cathedral. The city intended to place the statue high above in a niche. But they decided that David was too beautiful for that location.
Instead, David was placed outside the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence’s seat of government. Originally, parts of David were gilded. But the gilded surfaces were lost during the statue’s exposure to the elements. In 1873, David was moved inside to the Accademia.
Michelangelo’s Prisoners grace the Hall of the Prisoners at the Accademia. They are four unfinished male nudes that were originally intended for the Tomb of Pope Julius II. You can see Michelangelo’s approach to carving; the figures appear to be emerging from the marble.
Other must see Accademia masterpieces include Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabines, Pacino di Bonaguida’s Tree of Life, Jacopo di Cione’s Coronation of the Virgin, and Daniele da Volterra’s Bust of Michelangelo.
The Accademia is always swamped with visitors. You should definitely pre-book a skip the line ticket for this popular Florence attractions. You can also opt for a 1.5 hour guided tour with fast track ticket.
- Address: Via Ricasoli 58-60, near Piazza San Marco
- Hours: Tuesday to Friday 8:15 am to 6:50 pm, every 15 minutes. Closed Mondays.
- Entry fee: € 12, audio guide € 6
3. National Museum of the Bargello
The Bargello dates from 1255. It was first a prison and then the seat of government in Florence.
In 1865, the Bargello opened as a museum by royal decree. Now, it’s one of the best museums in Florence.
The Bargello houses an amazing collection of Renaissance sculptures. The most important works are in the Michelangelo and Donatello rooms.
Those include Michelangelo’s first major sculpture, Bacchus, and his Pitti Tondo, Donatello’s acclaimed Bronze David and St. George, and Bernini’s Bust of Costanza.
READ: Bernini Guide To Rome
Commissioned by Cosimo de Medici the Elder, Donatello’s Bronze David is the most famous piece in the museum. It’s a daring depiction of a biblical theme.
Bronze David is the first freestanding nude sculpture since Greco-Roman times. But it’s not a heroic rendering.
A nubile David is peculiarly depicted wearing no clothes except for a hat and boots, perhaps to suggest his underdog status. The statue is affectionately nicknamed “Puss ‘N Boots.”
The Bargello also houses the Competition Panels. In 1401, Florence held a competition for a set of bronze doors to be made for the Baptistry of the Duomo. Artists submitted bronze samples. Ghiberti and Brunelleschi were the finalists, with Ghiberti winning the competition.
The museum also houses pivotal Renaissance sculptures by the underrated artist Andrea del Verrocchio, who’s best known as Leonardo da Vinci’s teacher.
Here’s my complete guide to the masterpieces of the Bargello. Click here to pre-book a Bargello ticket. Click here to book a ticket + guided tour.
Address: Via del Proconsolo 4
Hours: Hours vary depending on the season. Typically, the bargello is open from 8:15 am to 1:50 pm. In high season, April to September, it’s open until 4:50 pm.
Entry fee: € 8, free the first Sunday of the month. The museum accepts the Florence Card, which also lets you skip the line.
4. Galileo Museum
After pondering great artists, perhaps it’s time to be awed by the greats of science. The Galileo Museum is housed in a medieval palace, the Palazzo Castellani, that was renovated in the 1800s.
When Galileo proclaimed that the earth revolved around the sun, he got in a heap of trouble. Under pressure, his “friend” Pope Urban VIII made Galileo recant his scientific findings.
Galileo was tried by the Inquisition and exiled from Florence. During the Age of Enlightenment, scholars realized that he was right all along.
Over two floors of the Galileo Museum, you’ll find an impressive collection of scientific instruments from the Renaissance, including telescopes, clocks, anatomical models, and astrological models. They reflect Italy’s claim as the center of the first scientific revolution.
Room 4 is the highlight of the museum. It has Galileo’s tools on display, including his famous telescope. Even his middle finger!
If you want to pay homage to Galileo, his tomb is in the Basilica of Sante Croce, along with other celebrity tombs.
Click here to pre-book a ticket to the museum.
- Address: Piazza dei Giudici 1, a 3 minute walk from the Palazzo Vecchio
- Hours: Open Friday through Monday from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm
- Entry fee: € 10, audio guide € 5
5. Casa di Dante | Dante’s House
The Casa di Dante is supposed to be an exact replica of the house Dante lived in in Florence. Dante Alighieri is Italy’s famed 13th century poet and author of The Divine Comedy.
In this epic poem, Dante creates a fictional version of himself, traveling through hell, purgatory, and paradise. His image driven descriptions were hugely influential, producing a plethora of visual art.
Dante famously fell in love with Beatrice Portinari, writing about her as an idealized love in his Vita Nuova. But it was an unrequited love. Dante admired her from afar. His passion became the subject of many paintings by Pre-Raphelite artists, especially Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
If you have an abiding fascination with the great 13th century poet, you’ll probably be interested in the displays. There’s many copies of The Divine Comedy. Nearby is the church where Beatrice attended mass.
- Address: Via Santa Margherita 1
- Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Entry fee: € 8
6. The Medici Chapels in the Basilica of San Lorenzo
The Medici Chapels is home to the largest number of Michelangelo sculptures in Florence. It’s part of the Basilica of San Lorenzo Complex. But it has a separate entrance and separate ticket. San Lorenzo was the official parish church of the Medici family.
Michelangelo himself designed the Medici Chapel between 1520-34.The chapel’s coffered dome is similar to Rome’s Pantheon. The walls are clad with pink green, gold, and white marble.
Michelangelo carved six tomb statues — the effigies of Giuliano and Lorenzo de Medici and the allegories of Night and Day and Dusk and Dawn. Night is regarded as one of Michelangelo’s finest works. To me, the effigy of Giuliano is extraordinarily beautiful.
And the museum has a secret room! In 1527, Michelangelo returned to Florence from Rome to defend republican forces during a civil war.
When Florence fell, Michelangelo retreated into a secret room below the chapel until he received a pardon from Medici pope Clement VII.
Michelangelo’s secret room wasn’t discovered until 1975, when a museum director spotted a trap door. The room contained charcoal sketches and doodles by Michelangelo on the walls, identified because they replicated his known works.
Here’s my complete guide to visiting the Medici Chapels.
They are one of Florence’s best and most popular museums and absolutely require pre-booking to visit. Click here to purchase a ticket. Click here to book a guided tour.
Address: Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6, at the northeast side of the basilica
Hours: The Medici Chapel is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:15 am to 11:50 pm, closing at 2:50 from April to September.
Entry fee: € 9. Time slot reservations are possible and worth the extra charge during the high season.
7. The Laurentian Libary
Commissioned by Pope Clement VII, the Laurentian Library is a revolutionary and blissfully uncrowded masterpiece. Construction began in 1524 and the library opened in 1571. It now functions as a museum, not a library.
The Laurentian Library consists of a reading room and a 48 foot vestibule built atop the San Lorenzo cloisters. It has one of the world’s most important collections of manuscripts, which belonged to the Medici family.
In designing the library, Michelangelo broke away from classical tradition and rules of proportion. He designed a dream-like space with curves and unusual configurations.
READ: Michelangelo Guide To Florence
The seemingly oversize Triple Staircase conveys a sense of movement. It seems to pour forward like pools of liquid. It may be the first freestanding staircase in architectural history.
Wild structures surround the staircase. You almost don’t see the walls .They’re decorated with architectural elements such as extremely large low-hanging brackets. Some of the elements are put into niches, making architecture the artwork. Columns are set into the wall or appear to rest on the corbels.
Unlike the vestibule, the Reading Room develops horizontally. There are two series of wooden benches, called plutei. There’s a white and red terra cotta floor and a coffered ceiling.
Michelangelo’s dramatic and inventive architectural style marked the beginning of Mannerism, a late Renaissance period that reinvented and put a stylized twist on classicism.
Here’s my complete guide to the Laurentian Library.
- Address: Piazza San Lorenzo 9, entrance is to the left of San Lorenzo
- Hours: Open weekdays from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm
- Entry fee: € 4. Tickets are sold in the San Lorenzo cloisters or you can buy them online here.
8. Museum of the San Marco Monastery
In 1437, Cosimo de Medici decided to rebuild a crumbling Dominican convent complex. He hired the famed architect Michelozzo. The walls were decorated by Fra Angelico and his workshop. San Marco is now a haven of uplifting tranquility and home to some of Florence’s best sacred art.
Fra Angelico was a devout monk. With Giotto and Donatello, he helped transform the art world and usher in the Renaissance.
His humanistic pieces, with delicate palettes, led him to be dubbed the “Angelic Painter” or Il Beato (the Blessed). Giorgio Vasari described Fra Angelico as a “rare and perfect talent.”
The highlight of the San Marco Museum is the Sala dell’ Ospizio (the Hospice Hall), where the most important Fra Angelico paintings are housed, including among others The Last Judgment, The Crucifixtion and Saints, and The Annunciation (at the top of the stairs).
There are also seminal works by Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo’s teacher, including a Last Supper fresco in the Refectory. Legend holds that the cherries arranged on the tablecloth spell out a rhyme.
You can also visit the old monks cells on the second floor. There’s a plain room where the fanatical monk Savonarola, the scourge of the Medici, lived and worked. Also stop in to peer at the simple cell where Cosimo de Medici (the Elder) came to meditate. It’s decorated with Fra Angelico’s Adoration of the Magi.
Here’s my complete guide to the treasures of San Marco Monastery. Click here for a skip the line ticket. Click here for a fascinating tour that gives you insight into Fra Angelico, Savonarola, and the Medici.
- Address: Piazza San Marco 3
- Hours: Open daily from 8:15 a to 1:20 pm
- Entry fee: € 13.75. Book online for a reserved time slot here.
9. Palazzo Vecchio
This stately medieval fortress dates from the 13th century. Like the Duomo, it was constructed by architect Arnolfo di Cambio.
Steeped in history, the Palazzo Vecchio was Florence’s seat of power. It was the home of the City Council that governed the Republic of Florence.
The Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum and town hall. It sits in the famous Piazza della Signoria, which is studded with many famous sculptures (or copies thereof), including Michelangelo’s David.
On the first floor of the palace, you can visit the Hall of the Five Hundred. It’s the largest room in a palace in Italy. The hall was commissioned by the fiery Dominican preacher Savonarola. But it got a major facelift in the Renaissance.
The hall is decorated with frescos by Giorgio Vasari. Previously, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint the Battle of Anghiari on the walls. The painting is now considered a “missing Leonardo.” Some art historians believe that the painting is hidden behind a false wall created by Vasari to preserve the work.
READ: All the Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci
On the second floor are the sumptuously decorated private rooms of the Medici with stunning frescoed ceilings. You’ll also find Donatello’s groundbreaking Judith and Holofernes sculpture in the Hall of Lilies.
Here’s my complete guide to the Palazzo Vecchio. Click here to pre-book a ticket to Palazzo Vecchio. Click here to book a 1.5 hour guided tour with fast track ticket.
Another popular 2 hour guided tour includes the palace and a climb of the Tower of Arnolfo. You can also book a private guided tour.
- Address: Piazza della Signoria
- Hours: Friday to Wednesday 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, Thursday 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, From April to September, Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun 9:00 am to 11:00 pm.
- Entry fee: You can get combination tickets for the museum, archeological site, and the tower. Check prices here.
10. Opera del Duomo Museum
The newly renovated Opera del Duomo Museum is an absolute must see site in Florence. It’s housed in the Piazza del Duomo at the back of Giotto’s Bell Tower, and offers a nice view of the dome from its terrace.
The museum houses works that were removed from the Duomo complex or brought in from outside for conservation. With 750 pieces, it’s the world’s largest collection of monumental Florentine sculpture.
The first thing you see when you walk in the museum is the Hall of Paradise. The hall contains a magnificent reconstruction of a Duomo facade.
It was torn down in 1587 to make room for a Renaissance facade (that was never completed). The reconstructed facade has exact replicas of the sculptures that once adorned it.
The other must see masterpieces in the Duomo Museum are Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise (the world’s most famous doors), Michelangelo’s unfinished Florence Pieta, and Donatello’s compelling Penitent Magdalene. One of Michelangelo’s last masterpieces, the pieta is currently being restored behind glass walls.
Here’s my complete guide to visiting the magnificent Duomo Museum. Click here for a guided tour of the Duomo Museum and Brunelleschi’s dome.
- Address: Piazza del Duomo 9
- Hours: Open 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, closed Sunday afternoon
- Entry fee: € 18 for entry to Duomo museum and the Baptistry
11. Gucci Garden
Fashion lovers should stop in at the Gucci Garden Museum.
Born in 2011, the Gucci Garden is housed in the historic Palace of Merchandise in the Piazza della Signorina. The palace formerly housed the court that resolved disputes among the artist guilds.
Over three floors, the museum tells the story of the Italian fashion powerhouse, known for their fashion and leather goods, transformed from a tiny start up to Italy’s most famous brand. The collection contains some of Gucci’s iconic pieces.
- Address: Piazza della Signoria 10
- Hours: Open daily 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
- Entry fee: € 8
12. Museum of Orsanmichele
The Church of Orsanmichele is noted for its incredible sculpture, decorating the exuberant Gothic facade. The facade has 14 niches, each one housing a statue of a patron saint commissioned by Florence’s merchant guilds.
Created by the best artists of the time, the exterior sculptures are now copies. The monumental originals are on the top floor of the church in the Orsanmichele Museum. It’s not open daily, but you should really try to see it if you can get there on Monday or Saturday.
By far, Orsanmichele’s most famous sculpture is Donatello’s St. Mark. It’s the first truly Renaissance piece of art.
St. Mark marked a revival of classical themes and naturalism. St. Mark was even given a receding hairline. Donatello’s famous St. George was also once at Orsanmichele, but was moved to the Bargello.
Orsanmichele also has three sculptures by Ghiberti — St. John the Baptist (the first significant Renaissance statue in bronze), St. Matthew (Ghiberti’s most important sculpture), and St. Stephen.
And also a famous sculpture by Andrea del Verrochio, Doubting Thomas. Verrochio was Leonardo da Vinci’s teacher.
- Address: Via dell’Arte della Lana 1
- Hours: The church itself is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. But the museum is only only open on Monday and Saturday morning, so you will have to plan a morning visit on one of those days.
- Entry fee: free
13. Pitti Palace
The absolutely awesome Palazzo Pitti is located across the Arno River. It’s in the off the beaten path Oltrarno district that’s now Florence’s trendiest neighborhood.
The palace is one of Florence’s most stunning architecture gems. Built in 1457, it was designed by Brunelleschi and built for the Florentine banker Luca Pitti.
In 1549, Cosimo de’ Medici’s wife purchased the Pitti Palace. It became the Medici’s principal private residence. The Medici expanded it and placed 8 art galleries in its interior. It’s a beautiful place to see in situ art, piled on top of each other.
The most important museum is certainly the Palatine Gallery. It occupies the left wing of the first floor.
READ: Guide To the Medici Palaces in Florence
The gallery houses an impressive collection of over 500 paintings, displayed amid lavish furnishings. It includes old masters works by Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio, and other European and Italian painters.
My favorites were the eight stunning Raphael portraits in the Raphael Room, including Agnolo Doni, Maddalena Doni, La Velata, and Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami.
Here’s my guide to visiting the Pitti Palace. Click here to pre-book a ticket to the Pitti Palace. Click here to book a guided tour of the magnificent museum.
- Address: Palazo de’Pitti 1
- Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, closed Mondays
- Entry fee: € 16
14. Baptistry of St. John
The Baptistry sits in front of the main facade of Florence Cathedral. Dating from 1059, it’s over a thousand years old. To locals, the Baptistry is Florence’s most significant monument. Yet, it seems like an underrated gem.
READ: Florence Hidden Gems
The Baptistry is octagonal in shape, inspired by ancient Roman mausoleums. It has three magnificent sets of bronze doors. On the eastern side are the famous golden “Gates of Paradise” designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti and nicknamed by Michelangelo. The originals are now housed in the Duomo museum.
On the north side, you’ll find another set of Ghiberti doors, created in 1403-24. The doors depict scenes from the passion of Christ.
They were the result of the famous 1401 competition among artists I mentioned above, which basically kicked off the Renaissance era.
On the south side, the doors date from 1330. They were designed by Andrea Pisano, a student and collaborator of Giotto. They show scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist. The Pisano doors were recently renovated.
Inside the Baptistry, the high altar houses Florence’s most precious relic, an index finger of John the Baptist. This relic drew crowds for centuries.
The Baptistry is lined with ancient Roman columns of gray granite, likely repurposed from the ancient Roman Forum down the street.
The highlight of the Baptistery is a stunning golden Byzantine style ceiling fresco.
The mosaic tells the story of the Last Judgement, the apocalyptic tale where Jesus determines who will go to heaven and hell. Jesus is 19 feet tall. There’s a shockingly low number of people depicted as heading to heaven.
Here’s my guide to Florence’s Baptistery. Click here for a combined ticket for the Duomo, the Baptistery, and the Duomo Museum.
- Address: Piazza del Duomo
- Hours: Sunday 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, Tuesday to Friday 8;15 am to 10:15 am & 11:15 am to 7:30 pm, Saturday 8:15 am to 7:30 pm
- Entry fee: Access with a cumulative ticket to the Duomo complex for € 18
15. Opera Museum of Sante Croce Basilica
The Basilica of Santa Croce is a must visit site for lovers of Renaissance art. It dates from 1280. The basilica has one of the greatest assemblages of frescos, painting, sculptures, and celebrity funeral tombs in the world.
The highlight are the frescos by Giotto in the Bardi Chapel and the Peruzzi Chapel. There are also frescos by his students Taddeo and Agnolo Gaddi.
Like the Duomo, Santa Croce has its own museum, the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce. Founded in1900, the Santa Croce Museum is in the church’s former Refectory. It houses works from the Florentine school.
In 1966, the space was damaged by catastrophic flooding of the Arno River. It was carefully restored, though some damage was irreversible. The museum reopened in 1975.
In the museum, you’ll find many frescos, sculptures, sketches, etc. The must see masterpieces include Cimabue’s Crucifix, Donatello’s St. Louis of Toulouse, Taddeo Gaddi’s The Last Supper and the Tree of Life, Bronzino’s Christ’s Descent into Limbo, and Francesco Salviati’s Deposition from the Cross.
There’s also a beautiful collection of terra-cotta tile by the Della Robia School.
If you want more information, here’s my comprehensive guide to visiting the Santa Croce complex.
Click here to pre-purchase a skip the line ticket. Click here to book a ticket + guided tour of the basilica.
- Address: Piazza di Santa Croce 16
- Hours: Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, 2:00 to 5:30 pm on Sundays
- Entry fee: € 6. The ticket includes access to the entire Santa Croce complex — the basilica, the museum, the cloisters, and the Pazzi Chapel
16. The Da Vinci Museum
Leonardo da Vinci’s namesake museum is a testament to the breadth of genius of this Renaissance man. Leonardo didn’t just paint the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and other seminal works.
Rather, Leonardo was an innovative spirit, going so far as to rob graves to learn human anatomy.
He was obsessed with flying and weaponry. Leonardo said “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply.”
His museum is devoted to his numerous designs and inventions. The exhibits include models, manuscripts, and interactive displays about the study of gravity and mechanics.
You’ll also see his drawings and anatomical studies. There are even recreations of his flying machines and, yes, even a robot he designed.
As a nod to the artist Leonardo, there’s also a life size reproduction of his Last Supper in Milan.
Click here to pre-book a ticket. Click here to book a 2 hour guided tour of the museum and a walking tour of Florence.
- Address: Via Camillo Cavour 21
- Hours: Daily 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
- Entry fee: € 8
17. Stibbert Museum
Perfect for history and military buffs, the Stibbert Museum is one of Florence’s more unusual museums. It houses the private collection of eccentric art collector Frederick Stibbert. When Stibbert inherited a fortune, he retired. Collecting art became his passion. Hard life, huh?
When Stibbert died, he gifted his villa to Florence. His museum is filled with an eclectic collection of artifacts, especially armory and weaponry, spread over 57 rooms. One of the most important pieces is the “pwit costume,” made for the coronation of Napoleon as king of Italy in 1805.
Be sure to wander through the Medieval Room and the Hall of Knights. The latter has full scale replicas of horses and armory. That room’s only beat by the sheer number of samurai swords.
- Address: Via Frederico Stibbert 26
- Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, Friday through Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00, closed Thursdays
- Entry fee: € 8
- Pro tip: The museum only offers 1:30 minute guided tours, departing every hour on the hour.
18. Casa Buonarotti
Casa Buonarroti is one of the best and most underrated museums in Florence.
The museum was a property once owned by the famed Renaissance artist Michelangelo, whose last name was Buonarroti. Later, the palace was transformed into a house-museum by his heirs.
The museum was designed to celebrate the great artist’s legacy. It’s a visual, and somewhat romanticized, biography of his life. If you’re a Michelangelo fan, Casa Buonarroti is a must visit attraction in Florence.
Casa Buonarroti has some real masterpieces. It has two of Michelangelo’s earliest known works of sculpture.
It houses Michelangelo’s majestic wooden model for the facade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo.
To top that, this tiny museum has the world’s second most important collection of Michelangelo drawings and a beautiful painting by Artemisia Gentileschi (that’s being restored).
Here’s my complete guide to Casa Buonarroti.
- Address: Via Ghibellina, 70
- Hours: 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, closed Tuesday
- Entry fee: € 8
19. Medici-Riccardi Palace
The fortress-like Medici-Riccardi Palace was home to the Medici family in the second half of the 15th century and a couple of decades of the 16th century.
The palace architect was Michelozzo, whom Cosimo the Elder commissioned in 1444. The Medici-Riccardi Palace is considered the first Renaissance style family palace — at least based on the interior.
Donatello’s avant garde Bronze David and Judith and Holofernes statues once stood in the courtyard, before moving to the Palazzo Vecchio. Today, you see a statue of Orpheus by late Renaissance Mannerist sculptor Baccio Bandinelli.
The Hall of Mirrors is an over the top Baroque confection with gold walls, dating from the 17th century. The illusionistic ceiling frescos were painted by Luca Giordano, with scenes from mythology
But the highlight of a visit to the palace is the Chapel of the Magi, a private chapel in the Medici home used exclusively for prayer and devotion.
The chapel is decorated with a beautiful series of frescos painted in 1459 by Benozzo Gozzoli. The frescos are in two parts, the Procession of the Magi is on three walls in the main room. The Adoration of the Magi in the chancel/altar.
The frescos are meant to glorify the Medici family and you’ll even see images of a young Lorenzo the Magnificent.
You can read more about this wonderful museum in Florence in my guide to the Medici palaces.
- Address: Via Camillo Cavour 1
- Hours: 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, except closed on Wednesdays. The ticket office closes at 6:00 pm.
- Entry fee: 10 euros. Entry to the garden and Michelozzo courtyard are free
I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to the best museum in Florence. You may enjoy these other travel guides and resources for Florence:
- 1 day itinerary for Florence
- 2 day itinerary for Florence
- 3 Day Itinerary for Florence
- 1 Day Itinerary for Florence’s Oltrarno neighborhood
- Hidden gems in Florence
- Florence art bucket list
- How To See Michelangelo’s David
- The Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel
- Must See Sites in Florence
- Statues of the Piazza della Signoria
- Florence’s Duomo and Brunelleschi’s Dome
If you’d like to visit the best museums in Florence, pin it for later.
