This tour takes you inside two extraordinary yet little-known residences in Florence, now transformed into fascinating museums. Each one tells a story of art, culture, and collecting, offering a rare glimpse into the city’s past.
Horne Museum: A Journey into the Renaissance
Our visit begins at the Horne Museum, a hidden gem in the heart of Florence. In the early 20th century, English collector, antiquarian, and scholar Herbert Percy Horne made it his mission to recreate the perfect Renaissance residence.
Walking through this museum feels like stepping into the 15th century. We’ll explore the bedroom, complete with traditional carved chests for storing clothes and personal belongings, the dining room with its grand fireplace, and even the kitchen, preserved just as it would have been in Renaissance times. Enriching these rooms is a remarkable collection of paintings, sculptures, and antique furniture, offering a vivid picture of life in a noble Florentine home.
Casa Buonarroti: Michelangelo’s Legacy
Next, we step into a truly unique place: Casa Buonarroti, the only baroque residence in Florence open to visitors.
This historic home is rooted in the dream of Michelangelo, who in the 16th century purchased five houses with the intention of transforming them into a grand family palace. However, the project remained unfinished in his lifetime. It was his great-grandnephew, Michelangelo the Younger, who finally brought the vision to life in the 1600s, creating a residence dedicated to celebrating his famous ancestor.
Michelangelo the Younger was more than just the heir to a great name—he was a scholar, writer, and art collector. His home became a cultural hub, attracting artists like Cristofano Allori, Pietro da Cortona, and Artemisia Gentileschi, as well as historical figures such as Galileo Galilei and Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici.
A Tribute to Michelangelo
The highlight of our visit is the stunning Gallery, where a team of thirteen painters, under the direction of Michelangelo the Younger, created the most extensive pictorial tribute to Michelangelo, celebrating his life and artistic career.
Casa Buonarroti also holds the earliest known works by Michelangelo, created when he was just fifteen years old at the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici:
- The Battle of the Centaurs,
- The Madonna of the Stairs.
But there’s even more! The museum boasts the world’s most important collection of Michelangelo’s drawings, displayed in rotation. Among its treasures, you’ll also find the wooden model for the facade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo and numerous preliminary sketches, offering a rare insight into his creative process.
This is more than just a tour—it’s a journey into the world of Michelangelo, not only as an artistic genius but as a man and visionary, through the very home he dreamed of building for his family.