Bargello Museum in Florence

The Bargello Museum is located in Florence, Italy and it was first opened in the year 1865 and once served as a prison. The Bargello Museum contains an Italian collection of pieces ranging from the time period between 14th to the  17th century. The Bargello Palace was first constructed as a residence to the mayor of Italy in 1261 and from the 13th century to 1502, it kept that same function. The Bargello Museum is now known as Florence oldest building. The plan of the Bargello Museum building was later a model for the construction of Palazzo Vecchio (an old town hall in Florence).

History
The Bargello is a word derived from the Latin word Bargillus, which means castle. During the time of middle ages in Italy, the name was given to the building because of an officer who was in brought from Florence, to help to maintain peace in the city at a time of violence. He was successful in doing his job and his status was similar to that of a police chief ad his office was give the name Bargello. Because of this, the building served as a police station and later was converted into prison. In the year 1780, Peter Leopold put an end to the prison, but the building remained as Florentine police headquarters until 1859. After the end of Leopold II’s rule, the Tuscany governor decided that the Bargello building to be converted into a Museum.

Attractions
The Bargello Museum has been restored many times and it still stands as a great example of a building with a beautiful courtyard. The Bargello Museum has a Michelangelo masterpiece structure, St. George’s tabernacle and several other Della Robbia family works.  The Bargello Museum also has a great collection of ivory, silver and ancient coins.

Traveling to the Bargello Museum
Traveling to the Bargello Museum is very easy because it is located at the heart of Florence. The museum opens at 8:15 am and closes at 1:50 pm. The museum remains closed on 2nd and 4th Mondays, the 1st and 3rd  Sundays of every month and on the days of Christmas and New Years. The entry fee into the Bargello Museum is 4 Euros. You should visit this Museum because it has the great collection from the ancient past, just try an get there at last 15 minutes before it opens, it can get crowded very quickly.

Bargello Museum in Florence