Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence

This museum is fantastic. The many statues, paintings, reliefs, and weapons were beautiful. We stopped in not expecting much and left knowing we had seen some of the most beautiful works of art around. It's a lot less crowded and more quiet. We loved the silence in the courtyard as we took in all the statues. There is a lot to like here with small crowds.

Visiting the gorgeous Bargello and seeing the most exquisite Donatello’s “David,” was the highlight of my time in Florence. Having not made it there in earlier visits, I was very much looking forward to seeing this particular “David”. He did not disappoint! Smooth, glowing, bronze skin, covering muscles of a boy who is just stepping into manhood. Everything about this smaller piece showcases Donatello and his vision of renaissance David. Sweeter, more delicate than Michelangelo’s but perhaps closer to the Biblical in that Donatello’s is diminutive in comparison.The experience is intimate, up close, as there was no rope around him at this person’s viewing. In fact nothing about the Bargello will disappoint, including the structure itself. I am not adding photos because there are already enough.