I finally made it to a museum, The Bargello! It is the oldest seat of government surviving in Florence, built as the town hall in 1255.It became the residence of the chief of police and a prison. Nothing like living where you work.

After an extensive renovation, it became one of Italy’s first national museums in 1865. It contains a collection of Florentine Renaissance sculpture including Michelangelo, Donatello, Giambologna and Cellini. It was rather awe inspiring.

The sculptures have been moved from their original places and replaced with replicas to preserve them. So most sculptures seen around town are replicas. The originals are found in the Bargello, Uffizi, and other museums.

The following are some of the pictures I took.

Cosimo I as Augustus by Vincenzo Danti

Oceanus is Giambologna’s largest marble. It once crowned the fountain of the same name in the Boboli Gardens.

The Fisher Boy by Vincenzo Gemito. It made me think of Darrel as a little boy as he started his love of fishing early.

Bacchus by Michelangelo Buonarroti. One of the most important challenges for young Michelangelo. Its precarious equilibrium and drunken gaze was not appreciated by his patron.

Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

An ivory comb in a room full of intricately carved ivory.

Scissors and a Bone Saw. Can you imagine living through getting a limb cut of with that!?

Saint George by Donatello. The first sculpture that fully expressed the aesthetic and civil ideals of the Renaissance. 1416

Another Youthful and Bold David by Andrea del Verrocchio.

Pan and Olympus attributed to Pierino da Vinci. This one cracked me up because Pan is obviously very happy to see Olympus and has the longest penis of any sculpture I have seen.

The Courtyard Wall and Stairs at The Bargello

Upper Floors of The Bargello from the Courtyard.

After The Bargello visit I walked around a bit to try to ease my back a bit. Doing a lot of slow walking and standing bothers it more than just walking. As I came onto the pedestrian street I heard a band. Sure enough, it was a military marching band. I followed it to the Piazza della Repubblica where they played another song then loaded onto their bus and drove away with police escort. It was funny watching people marching along as they followed them.

Military Marching Band

Next I went back to ‘ino, the place Megan and I had our cheese tasting, for lunch. I got a Prosciutto and Tartufo (truffle mixture with olives) sandwich. It was really tasty and hit the spot. May have to go there again, their sandwiches are very different. It was funny, though, while I was there a young American girl and her mother came in and ordered ham and cheese. I had even suggested one of the tartufo sandwiches, but no. Jeez! Try something a little different!

Prosciutto and Tartufo Panino

I came back to the apartment, took some ibuprofen and relaxed. I ate the last of my leftovers from cooking with Francesca for dinner. Then went out to Carapina and got a gelato, stopped at the store and bought yogurt and more milk for my coffee. And that was the end of my exciting day in Florence.