The guides to the Bargello National Museum, published between 1873 and 1932, and drafted on the basis of a topographical layout, are invaluable tools for following both the growth of the Museum and how its rooms were arranged during the period of its formation.
These texts enable a useful comparison with the historical inventories of the Museum and are a living testimony to changing taste and the history of museography.
So we thought it would be a good idea to photocopy them and make them available for consultation.
Visitor’s guide to the Royal National Museum in the old Palazzo della Podestà in Florence, 1884 Parte 1, pp. 1-91 Historical background of the building; Origin of the Museum; Plan of the Palazzo before and after restoration; Ground floor: First Arms Room; Second Arms Room; Courtyard; Stone Sculpture Room; First floor: Balcony; Large Hall; Majolica Room. Parte 2, pp. 92-164 First floor: Chapel; Amber and Ivory Room; First Room of Bronzes; Second Room of Bronzes. Second floor: Room of frescoes; Sculptures; Second Sculpture Room; Room of Seals; Glazed Terracotta Room; Tower Room.
Catalogue of the Royal National Museum of Florence, 1898 Parte 1, pp. 1-120
Ground floor: Arms Room; Small Arms Room; Courtyard; First Sculpture Room; Second Sculpture Room; First floor: Balcony; Donatello Room; Tower Room; Carrand Collection. Parte 2, pp. 121-247
First floor: Carrand Collection. Parte 3, pp. 248-358
First floor: Carrand Collection; Chapel. Parte 4, pp. 359-484
Sacristy; Amber and Ivory Room; First Bronze Room; Second Bronze Room; Second Floor: Frescoes; Third Sculpture Room; Fourth Sculpture Room; Seals and Coins; Della Robbia Room; Majolica Room; Tower Room.
