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Bargello Museum

Museum

Bargello Museum

  • Florence
  • 1.5–2 hours
  • 1 experience to book

A 13th-century fortress-palace holding Donatello's bronze David and Michelangelo's Bacchus: Florence's museum of sculpture.

Things to do at Bargello Museum

Tickets

About Bargello Museum

Built from 1255 as the seat of the city's government, the Bargello later housed the chief of police, or bargello, and the city prison. Its courtyard, open-air staircase and battlemented tower still look the part.

It opened as a national museum of sculpture in 1865. Donatello's bronze David and his St George stand in the vaulted Salone di Donatello, reopened in 2025 after restoration. Michelangelo's Bacchus, Giambologna's Mercury, Cellini's bronzes and the 1401 competition panels by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti for the Baptistery doors complete the line-up.

Know before you go

  • Closed Mondays.
  • Tickets are issued in each visitor's name and staff may check ID.
  • Bags over 40 × 30 × 18 cm aren't allowed inside; there are small lockers but no cloakroom.
  • The entrance, courtyard and Michelangelo Room are being refurbished in 2026, so routes and displays may change.
  • Under-18s enter free with ID.