Our proposals concerning museums consist of an in-depth visit of one or more museums in the Florence area, with a particular attention given to minor, lesser-known museums.
The following are some of the options:
1. Museo Galileo: in the renovated museum dedicated to one of the most famous scientists in history you have the chance to track the main steps in the evolution of scientific method and research and to discover the key role played by Florence and the Medici family in the progress of science, often obscured by the artistic side.
2. Museo Ferragamo: located in one of the oldest public palaces in Florence, the Museo Ferragamo follows step-by-step the rise to success of Salvatore Ferragamo, brilliant shoe creator and important chracter not only in the shoe business, but also in international high-couture.
3. Museo degli Innocenti: in the reopened halls dedicated to the ancient Istituto degli Innocenti (Institut for the Innocents) you can find a new exposition focused on the theme of hospitality, enrichened by numerous works of art and evidence.
4. Museo Marino Marini: in a dynamic setup inside the church of San Pancrazio, the rich collection of the famous Pistoia-born artist is exposed, with the pre-existing antiquities engaged in a dialogue with contemporary techniques and materials.
5. Museo di Palazzo Davanzati: the Museo della Casa Fiorentina Antica (Museum of the ancient Florentine house), located in Palazzo Davanzati, lets the visitor dive inside the spaces and habits of a noble XIV century Florentine family. The rooms, the furniture, the objects, even the structure of the palace itself narrate the daily routine of an age since gone.
6. Museo Horne: the museum, in the heart of the Santo Spirito neighbourhood, bears the name of the British architect and art historian who bought this palace in the early 1900’s in order to give an appropriate setting to his private collection. Said collection features works ranging from paintings to sculptures to the furnishing; it is also made of items from various eras, with names such as Giotto, Simone Martini, and Giambologna among others, all in a Renaissance-like environment.
7. Museo Casa Siviero: in these rooms is exposed the collection of the so-called “007 of art”, Rodolfo Siviero, who managed to bring back to Italy many artworks stolen during WWII. The collection includes ancient roman vases, everyday life objects and terracottas of various genres and eras, but it also features the work of contemporary authors such as De Chirico and Annigoni. Casa Siviero embodies the cultural taste and interests of a part of the florentine middle class during the first half of the twentieth century.
8. GAM: the Gallery of Modern Art of Palazzo Pitti, included in the large Pitti museum area, is home to an ample variety of modern works, embracing international styles such as historical realism, but also more Tuscany-related movements, albeit with some European expansion, as the Macchiaioli. Especially for what concerns this last genre the focus of the gallery is really worthy of note, following the evolution of this movement closely tied with Impressionism.