Museo Bandini

About the museum

The Museo Bandini takes its name from the Fiesole canon Angiolo Maria Bandini (Fiesole 1726 – 1803), an 18th-century scholar, canon and librarian of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence. A lover of antiques and collecting, in 1795 he bought the small church of Sant’Ansano, dating from the 11th century, to create a “Museo Sacro” (sacred museum) that would bring together the works of his collection as evidence of Florentine and Tuscan medieval art.

On his death in 1803 Bandini donated the collection of sacred art to the bishop and the Chapter of Fiesole for the decoration, education and charity of the people of Fiesole. In 1913 the works were transferred to a new building designed by Giuseppe Castellucci, where they are still displayed today after restoration and rearrangement in the 1980s.

The museum is spread over two floors. On the ground floor a first room houses paintings and sculptures from the Fiesole area, including a polychrome terracotta of the Madonna and Child attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi, and the next room is devoted to the robbiane, glazed terracotta sculptures by the Della Robbia family. On the first floor two rooms present paintings, largely medieval sacred works from the workshops of Florentine and Tuscan painters. Today the museum, owned by the Chapter of Fiesole, is managed by the Comune together with the Area archeologica and the Museo civico archeologico.

Highlights

• Polychrome terracotta of the Madonna and Child attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi
• Robbiane room with glazed terracotta sculptures by the Della Robbia family
• Medieval sacred paintings from Florentine and Tuscan workshops
• Small group of Byzantine works
• Sacred art collection of the scholar Angiolo Maria Bandini

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione permanente del Museo Bandini – Della Robbia terracottas on the ground floor and medieval Florentine and Tuscan sacred paintings on the first floor.

Founded

1913

Operated by

Comune di Fiesole (proprietà del Capitolo di Fiesole)

Visitors per year

approx. 3,103

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for Fiesole residents, children up to age 6, journalists, ICOM members and licensed tour guides; €3 for FAI members. The Musei di Fiesole are part of the FirenzeCard circuit.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The Musei di Fiesole indicate specific routes and lifts that make the visit accessible also with pushchairs and wheelchairs. The disabled parking bays nearest the entrance are in via Portigiani and in piazza del Mercato.

Kids & families

• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

There is a baby-changing table at the Museo Bandini.

Getting there & parking

The entrance and the ticket office are at the junction of via Giovanni Dupré and via Portigiani. From the A1 motorway take the Firenze Sud exit and follow the signs for Fiesole; for coaches and motorhomes, via di San Domenico is recommended.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The Caffè Teatro is at the entrance to the Area archeologica (10% discount on the lunch menu with the museum ticket). The bookshop of the Musei di Fiesole is at via Portigiani 3, next to the ticket office.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit