Museo Stefano Bardini

The Museo Stefano Bardini preserves the collection and distinctive blue interiors assembled by Florentine dealer Stefano Bardini.

Why it matters

Bardini (1836–1922), trained as a painter before becoming a restorer and dealer, assembled works for collectors in Italy and abroad. He gave his collection an elaborate setting in the former church and convent of San Gregorio alla Pace. His bequest made the complex a civic museum and preserved a record of late nineteenth-century collecting.

What to notice

Graded blue walls frame sculptures, paintings, furniture, ceramics, textiles and arms. Highlights include Tino di Camaino's Charity, Donatello's Madonna dei Cordai, glazed terracottas associated with the della Robbia workshop, Tiepolo drawings and works by Antonio del Pollaiolo. Florentine symbols include Pietro Tacca's bronze Porcellino, the gilded Marzocco and Giambologna's Diavolino.

Context and history

The former church of San Gregorio alla Pace dated to the thirteenth century. Bardini acquired the complex in 1880 and remodelled it as a showroom and restoration workshop. After his death, the collection passed to the Comune di Firenze, which opened the Museo Civico in 1925. A restoration campaign from 1999 to 2009 recovered the blue scheme associated with Bardini.