Bargello

The Bargello is one of my favorite museums in Florence. I think I ended up going close to a dozen times. The building itself was once the home of a city official that was later converted into a prison and finally a museum. There's lots of statuary, most notably Donatello's bronze David (above). Personally, I think I might like this David better than Michelangelo's, but that's just me. There are a couple of Michelangelo sculptures in the museum as well, plus other important artists.

Another cool display is the two plates from the gates of paradise competition. After the Duomo's baptistry was completed, there was a competition for who would design the doors. The doors are made up of a series of gold-plated panels depicting biblical scenes. There are two remaining plates from the contest, one from Ghiberti (who won) and the other from Brunelleschi who, after losing the contest, went to Rome to study architecture and later came back to construct the Duomo.

The museum also hosts a range of other interesting artifacts, such as pottery, fine ivory sculptures, small bronzes, and a weapons display.