The Bargello Palace, with its imposing and foreboding structure reminiscent of the Palazzo della Signoria, encapsulates the most haunting chapters in Florence’s history. This serves as a stark reminder that the city’s past wasn’t always characterized by harmony and the beauty reflected in the architecture or paintings of Botticelli.
Constructed in the mid-13th century, during the ascendancy of the Guelphs (emerging small merchants) who wrested power from the Ghibellines (affluent nobility), the palace was designed to host the city’s most pivotal magistrate—the podestà.
The laws dictated that the podestà must be a foreigner hailing from a location at least fifty miles away, serving a term limited to one year. This aimed at ensuring an unbiased judge who wouldn’t favor any particular family or faction. However, this attempt proved unsuccessful, as forty years later, salaried workers (commonly referred to as the “common people”) stormed the palace in protest against injustices. This incident led to a reform in administration, akin to a constitution in Florence—the Ordinances of Justice by Giano della Bella. These ordinances barred prominent families from accessing public office and introduced the figure of the Gonfaloniere of Justice, a magistrate tasked with leading the Priori council, commanding the militia, and safeguarding the interests of the less affluent classes from the “wealthy elite” (affluent merchants).
This form of governance persisted, at least formally and with brief interruptions, until the Medici family seized power. The Medici then shifted political functions and representations to Palazzo Vecchio, making the Bargello the seat of the Council of Justice and the Judges of the Wheel until 1574. During these centuries, the palace symbolized the efforts of less wealthy citizens to escape the dominance of the nobility.
However, life in Florence, as revealed by the surviving statutes of the podestà, was not particularly cheerful. For instance, if a servant was found armed without their master after curfew, they risked losing a hand, and lovers were prohibited from serenading their beloved, facing a heavy fine and confiscation of their instrument.
Things took a dark turn in 1574, under the rule of Cosimo I, when the Bargello Palace transformed into a dismal prison, housing condemned prisoners and the Guards. The palace took its name from the Chief of Police (the Bargello) who arrested and interrogated criminals. Extensive modifications were made, with spacious areas subdivided and loggias closed to create more cells. Outside, lavish windows were closed, replaced with small slits in the wall. Prisoners were tortured and executed in the courtyard, with gruesome practices accompanied by the tolling bells of the Volognana tower, described with sadistic satisfaction in contemporary accounts.
The atmosphere in Florence during these years must have been one of terror, especially when, not uncommonly, the heads of the executed were displayed on a stump between Via del Proconsolo and Via della Vigna Vecchia as a warning to citizens. At times, as a warning, bodies were hung outside the palace windows, and if the crime was particularly heinous, the image of the criminal was painted on the walls of the Bargello tower or the inner courtyard.
Sometimes, beneath these images, defamatory verses were written, such as those under the portrait of a hanged traitor, chained and surrounded by devils:
“Proud, greedy, traitor, liar,
Lustful, ungrateful, full of deceit,
I am Bonaccorso di Lapo Giovanni.”
It took very little to be labeled in this way, especially if one was not wealthy or protected by some influential figure. In documents recording the death of political prisoners, there is often no specific reason given, only generic phrases like “for the sake of the state,” “for disobedience to the Republic,” or even “for unknown reasons.”
All this came to an end, much to the relief of the citizens, when Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo abolished the death penalty in 1786 and burned the torture devices. The Bargello continued to function as a prison until the mid-19th century when, amid a reevaluation of medieval ideals, it was decided to restore it. The architect Francesco Mazzei attempted to recreate the original architecture of the Bargello, eliminating everything that could remind visitors of the cruelties committed there. Loggias were reopened as they were originally, cramped cells were removed, and the original architectural ornaments were sought. The walls were adorned with medieval-style decorations.
Since then, it was decided that the Bargello would house a museum dedicated to the history and arts of Tuscany. In 1865, the Bargello was inaugurated as a National Museum, with celebrations in honor of Dante, attended by private collectors who decided to offer various items on deposit to contribute to its formation.
