# Bargello Museum, Florence > The Bargello is Florence's great sculpture museum, set in a stern medieval palace five minutes from Piazza della Signoria. It holds Donatello's bronze David, Michelangelo's Bacchus, Giambologna's Mercury and the famous competition reliefs by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. Entry is paid, it's far quieter than the Uffizi, and 1 to 1.5 hours is enough. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/bargello - City: [Florence](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence), Italy - YesGo score: 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h 15 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Paid - Opening hours: By day, one closing day a week - Highlights: Donatello, Michelangelo, Giambologna - Queues: Usually shorter than the Uffizi - Time needed: 1–1.5 hours - Location: Via del Proconsolo, 5 minutes from Piazza della Signoria - Coordinates: 43.77040, 11.25801 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **1255** — building began on a palace for the city government (source: English Wikipedia) - **1865** — the national sculpture museum opened here (source: English Wikipedia) - **Donatello** — his bronze David is the museum's star (source: English Wikipedia) - **1401** — Ghiberti and Brunelleschi's reliefs for the Baptistery doors contest (source: English Wikipedia) - **Michelangelo** — Bacchus is one of his early statues (source: English Wikipedia) ## History of the Bargello Work on the palace began in **1255**, making it one of Florence's oldest public buildings, older than the [Palazzo Vecchio](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-vecchio). It was called the **Palazzo del Popolo**, the People's Palace, and housed the city government and its elected chief magistrate. From outside it looks like a fortress, with thick stone walls, battlements and a tall tower. In the 16th century the palace became the base of the **bargello**, the head of the city guard, and his title gave the building the name it still has. In **1865**, when Florence was briefly capital of Italy, it became the **National Museum**, one of the country's first. Today it holds the world's finest collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture. If the Uffizi is about painting, the Bargello is about marble and bronze: here you can see how Florentine sculptors learned, over two centuries, to capture movement and feeling. ## Highlights of the Bargello The heart of the collection is the Donatello hall on the first floor. Here stands his bronze **David**, a young shepherd in a laurel-wreathed hat, the calm, thoughtful hero of the Bible story. It was the first free-standing nude bronze since antiquity, and seeing it makes clear how different it is from Michelangelo's marble David. Nearby is the marble **St George**, the original that once stood in a niche at Orsanmichele. In the same hall are the two bronze **Sacrifice of Isaac** panels by Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, made for the **1401** competition for the [Baptistery](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/florence-baptistery) doors. You can compare them side by side and judge for yourself whether the jury was right to pick Ghiberti. On the ground floor are early works by **Michelangelo**: the tipsy, swaying **Bacchus**, the round Pitti Tondo relief of the Madonna and Child, and the Brutus bust. Close by is **Giambologna**'s graceful bronze **Mercury**, who seems to take off while balancing on one toe. ## What to see in the Bargello - **Donatello's David** — bronze, in the Donatello hall. - **Donatello's St George** — the marble original. - **The 1401 competition panels** — Ghiberti and Brunelleschi side by side. - **Michelangelo's Bacchus** — an early marble statue. - **Giambologna's Mercury** — the bronze god in flight. - **The courtyard of crests** — carved arms and statues under the arches. - **Della Robbia majolica** — blue and white glazed terracotta. > **When it's quietest** The Bargello is one of Florence's calmest big museums: there's rarely a queue, and you can stand before Donatello's David without a crowd. To see Renaissance masterpieces in peace, come here on a day when the Uffizi and Accademia queues are at their longest. ## The courtyard and the palace rooms The visit starts in an impressive **courtyard**. Its walls are covered with the carved crests of chief magistrates who governed the city over the centuries, and 16th-century marble statues stand under the arches. An open stone staircase climbs to the first floor, where a covered loggia holds Giambologna's bronze birds, once part of a fountain at a Medici villa. Besides sculpture, the Bargello has ivories, old textiles, arms, small bronzes, medals and a large collection of blue and white glazed terracotta from the **della Robbia** workshop. There are also the wax and bronze models for Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus, showing how he worked out the pose of his famous statue on [Piazza della Signoria](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/piazza-della-signoria). ## How to get to the Bargello 1. From Piazza della Signoria, 3 minutes on foot. 2. From [Florence Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/florence-cathedral), 5 minutes along Via del Proconsolo. 3. From **Santa Maria Novella** station, 15 minutes on foot. 4. The entrance is at Via del Proconsolo 4. ## Tickets and tips Buy tickets on site or on the official Bargello Museums website; there's also a combined ticket with the [Medici Chapels](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/medici-chapels) and the group's other museums. The museum has one closing day a week, so check it in advance. Allow **1 to 1.5 hours**. Start in the courtyard, go up to the Donatello hall, then come back down to Michelangelo on the ground floor. Photos without flash are usually allowed. The Bargello pairs well with [Santa Croce](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-croce), seven minutes' walk away. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Check the museum's closing day - [ ] Find the bronze David in the Donatello hall - [ ] Compare Ghiberti and Brunelleschi's panels - [ ] See Michelangelo's Bacchus - [ ] Look at the crests in the courtyard ## Florence's museums: compare and choose Museums and galleries in Florence rated by YesGo. - [Palazzo Vecchio](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-vecchio) — YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Courtyard free, museum paid - [Uffizi Gallery](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/uffizi) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · Paid - [Santa Croce](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-croce) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · Paid - [Palazzo Pitti](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-pitti) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Paid - [Santa Maria Novella](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-maria-novella) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [Vasari Corridor](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/vasari-corridor) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid, timed entry - [Palazzo Medici Riccardi](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-medici-riccardi) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [Orsanmichele](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/orsanmichele) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Laurentian Library](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/laurentian-library) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Paid - [Galleria dell'Accademia](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/galleria-dell-accademia) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Paid - [Medici Chapels](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/medici-chapels) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [Brancacci Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/brancacci-chapel) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Paid, timed entry - [Bargello](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/bargello) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Paid - [Palazzo Strozzi](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-strozzi) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Courtyard free, exhibitions paid - [Museo Galileo](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/museo-galileo) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Paid ## Florence's sculpture in a day Piazza della Signoria and the Loggia dei Lanzi, the Bargello, then Santa Croce. 1. [Piazza della Signoria](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/piazza-della-signoria) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 40 min · Free 2. [Bargello](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/bargello) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Paid 3. [Santa Croce](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-croce) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · Paid ## Don't mix it up Florence has three famous Davids: Donatello's bronze is in the Bargello, Michelangelo's marble is in the Accademia, and a copy of it stands on Piazza della Signoria. Verrocchio's David is in the Bargello too. ## Tips - Shorter queues than the Uffizi. - Donatello's David is upstairs. - Check the closing day. - Piazza della Signoria is close by. ## Questions ### What is there to see in the Bargello? Donatello's bronze David and St George, Michelangelo's Bacchus, Giambologna's Mercury and the competition panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. ### Why is it called the Bargello? In the 16th century the palace was home to the bargello, head of the city guard, and the building took his title. ### How much is entry to the Bargello? Entry is paid; check the price on the official Bargello Museums website. ### Is there a queue at the Bargello? Usually a short one or none, unlike the Uffizi and the Accademia. ### How long do you need at the Bargello? 1 to 1.5 hours. ## How we checked History and collection from English Wikipedia. Prices and hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Bargello and David (Donatello) - Official Bargello Museums site, bargellomusei.it --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.