Small Museums in Florence
Svayambhu by Anish Kapoor When guide books write about museums in Florence, the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace get the lion’s share of attention. With their collections and history, that is no surprise. However, I prefer smaller museums, ones I can visit in one to two hours, and then get on with seeing the city. On my last trip to Florence I was able to enjoy special exhibitions at three of the city’s smaller spaces. Strozzi Palace Strozzi Palace By MenkinAlRire vis Wikimedia Commons The Palazzo Strozzi was built by Filippo Strozzi the elder, a banker and rival to the Medici family. Construction started in 1489 and finished in 1538. Filippo died before its completion, but that didn’t stop Cosimo Medici from confiscating the palace, and not returning it for thirty years. It remained in the Strozzi family until 1937, when it was acquired by the Instituto Nazionale Delle Assicurazioni, a public entity that specialized in life insurance. Today the palazzo is home to the I...