Bargello Museum

Dante is said to have contributed to saving the Bargello Museum. Among the museum’s art treasures, including works by Donatello, Verrocchio and Michelangelo, there is a portrait of a young Dante in the Magdalene Chapel, mentioned by Vasari as having been painted by Giotto. The portrait was discovered in 1840 by the painter Antonio Marini. This extraordinary discovery greatly improved the reputation of the building, which had served as the city’s prison for nearly three centuries, after which time it was restored to its original splendor in barely eight years. In 1865, the year Florence became the capital city of the Kingdom of Italy, the prison was converted into Italy’s first national museum. But this is not the only story worth learning about in this truly special place.