Antonio del pollaiolo, ercole e anteo, 01

The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Terminology

The word ''bargello'' appears to come from the late

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''bargillus'' (from

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

''bargi'' and German ''burg''), meaning "castle" or "fortified tower". During the Italian

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

it was the name given to a military captain in charge of keeping peace and justice (hence "Captain of justice") during riots and uproars. In Florence he was usually hired from a foreign city to prevent any appearance of favoritism on the part of the Captain. The position could be compared with that of a current Chief of police. The name Bargello was extended to the building which was the office of the captain.

The palace

Construction began in 1255. The palace was built to house first the

Capitano del Popolo Captain of the People ( it, Capitano del popolo, Lombard: ''Capitani del Popol'') was an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the Italian ci ...

and later, in 1261, the '

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

', the highest magistrate of the Florence

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. This Palazzo del Podestà, as it was originally called, is the oldest public building in Florence. This austere crenellated building served as model for the construction of the

Palazzo Vecchio The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the City hall, town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David (Michelangelo), David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent ...

. In 1574, the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

dispensed with the function of the ''Podestà'' and housed the ''bargello'', the police chief of Florence, in this building, hence its name. It was employed as a prison; executions took place in the Bargello's yard until they were abolished by Grand Duke Peter Leopold in 1786, but it remained the headquarters of the Florentine police until 1859. When Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Peter Leopold was exiled, the makeshift Governor of Tuscany decided that the Bargello should no longer be a jail, and it then became a national museum. The original two-story structure was built alongside the Volognana Tower in 1256. The third storey, which can be identified by the smaller blocks used to construct it, was added after the fire of 1323. The building is designed around an open courtyard with an external staircase leading to the second floor. An open well is found in the centre of the courtyard. The Bargello opened as a national museum (''Museo Nazionale del Bargello'') in 1865, displaying the largest Italian collection of

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

sculptures (14–17th century).

Art collection

The museum houses masterpieces by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, such as his ''Bacchus'', ''Pitti Tondo'' (or ''Madonna and Child''), ''Brutus'' and ''David-Apollo''. Its collection includes

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

's ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

'' and ''St. George Tabernacle'' ,

Vincenzo Gemito Vincenzo Gemito (July 16, 1852 – March 1, 1929) was an Italian sculptor and artist. Although he worked in various studios of well-known artists in his native Naples, Rome and Paris, he is considered to have largely been self-taught, the reason ...

's ''Pescatore'' ("fisherboy"),

Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...

's ''Bacchus'',

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

's ''Architecture'' and his ''Mercury'' and many works from the

Della Robbia Della Robbia is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Luca della Robbia (1400–1481), Italian sculptor * Andrea della Robbia (1435–1525), Italian sculptor, nephew of Luca *Giovanni della Robbia (1469–1529), son of Andrea *Girola ...

family.

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

is represented with his bronze bust of Cosimo I. There are a few works from the Baroque period, notably

Gianlorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

's 1636-7 ''

Bust of Costanza Bonarelli The ''Bust of Costanza Bonarelli'' is a marble portrait sculpture by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, created in the 1630s.Wittkower, Rudolf. ''Bernini, the Sculptor of the Roman Baroque''. Fourth Edition, 1997, p. 256. It is now in the M ...

''. The museum also has a fine collection of ceramics (

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. Italian maiolica dating from the Renaissance period is the most renowned. When depicting historical and mythical scenes, these works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ( ...

), textile, tapestries, ivory, silver,

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

and coins. The formerly lost right-hand panel of the

Franks Casket The Franks Casket (or the Auzon Casket) is a small Anglo-Saxon whale's bone (not "whalebone" in the sense of baleen) chest from the early 8th century, now in the British Museum. The casket is densely decorated with knife-cut narrative scenes in ...

is held by the museum. It also features the competing designs for ''The Sacrifice of Isaac'' (''Sacrificio di Isacco'') that were made by

Lorenzo Ghiberti Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery ...

and

Filippo Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...

to win the contest for the second set of doors of the

Florence Baptistery The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John ( it, Battistero di San Giovanni), is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del D ...

(1401).

Honolulu Hale Honolulu Hale (originally called the Honolulu Municipal Building), located on 530 South King Street in downtown Honolulu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, is the official seat of government of the city and county, site of the chambers of ...

's interior courtyard, staircase, and open ceiling were modeled after the Bargello. The Islamic Hall at the Bargello was set up in 1982 by Marco Spallanzani and

Giovanni Curatola Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...

at the direction of Paola Barocchi and

Giovanna Gaeta Bertelà Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name. It is the feminine counterpart of the masculine Giovanni, which in turn is the Italian form of John; it is thus the Italian equivalent of Jane, Joanna, Jeanne, etc. In Brazil, the feminine name Giovann ...

, then the director.

Gallery

File:Ghiberticompetition.jpg,

's ''Isaac's Sacrifice''. File:Niccolo da Uzzano by Donatello - cast.jpg, ''Bust'' (attributed to Donatello) File:Tullio lombardo, busto di cristo, 1520, donazione eredi de carlo al bargello 01.JPG, ''Bust of Christ'', (

Tullio Lombardo Tullio Lombardo (c. 1455 – November 17, 1532), also known as Tullio Solari, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor. He was the brother of Antonio Lombardo and son of Pietro Lombardo. The Lombardo family worked together to sculpt famous Catholic ...

). File:Benedetto da maiano, busto di pietro mellini.JPG, ''Bust of Pietro Melllini'' (

Benedetto da Maiano Benedetto da Maiano (1442 – May 24, 1497) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor. Biography Born in the village of Maiano (now part of Fiesole), he started his career as companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When he ...

). File:Coronation of Ferdinand II of Aragon.jpg, ''Coronation of

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

''. File:Musicisti.jpg, ''Musicians from program for Coronation of Ferdinand II'', (Benedetto da Maiano). File:03 2015 Giovan Francesco Rustici da la Battaglia di Anghiari di Leonardo da Vinci-Museo nazionale del Bargello (Firenze) Photo Paolo Villa FOTO9233.JPG, ''Anghiari Battle'',

Giovan Francesco Rustici Giovan Francesco Rustici, or Giovanni Francesco Rustici, (1475–1554) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor. __NOTOC__ He was born into a noble family of Florence, with an independent income. Rustici profited from study of the Medi ...

after Leonardo da Vinci File:03 2015 Madonna di Santa Maria Nuova-Luca della Robbia-Museo nazionale del Bargello (Firenze) Photo Paolo Villa FOTO9230.JPG, ''Madonna di Santa Maria Nuova''-

Luca della Robbia Luca della Robbia (, also , ; 1399/1400–1482) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence. Della Robbia is noted for his colorful, Tin-glazed pottery, tin-glazed terracotta statuary, a technique which he invented and passed on to his ne ...

File:Crocifisso attribuito a Michelangelo.jpg, ''Crucifix'' attributed to Michelangelo. File:Impératrice Ariane.JPG, ''Empress Ariane'' (Byzantine). File:St George Donatello Orsanmichele n2.jpg, ''St George'', (

). File:Florence - David by Donatello.jpg, ''

'', (Donatello). File:Michelangelo Bacchus.jpg, ''Bacchus'', (

). File:FloArch0.jpg, ''Architettura'', (

). File:Gianlorenzo bernini, ritratto di costanza bonarelli, 1637-38, 02.JPG, ''

'', ( Bernini). File:03 2015 Pescatorello-Vincenzo Gemito-Museo nazionale del Bargello (Firenze) Photo Paolo Villa FOTO9229.JPG, ''Il Pescatorello'' (little fisher boy),

File:Aquamanile - Bargello Mac' Hornu.JPG, Aquamanile representing St George and his horse (Mosane or Rhine region - ca. 1400-1410).

References

External links