Florence has more museums per square kilometre than any other city in the world. Yet many of the most extraordinary are practically unknown to mass tourism.
The hidden museums of Florence: treasures off the classic route
The Uffizi, the Accademia, the Bargello: these three museums gather almost all of Florence's cultural tourism. But around the corners hide masterpieces that deserve just as much attention.
Museo di San Marco
The convent of San Marco houses the gallery with the world's largest collection of works by Fra Angelico. Cell 39 - the one used by Angelico himself as a monk - holds an Annunciation considered the artist's absolute masterpiece.
Savonarola and Lorenzo the Magnificent used this convent as a place of reflection: the history you breathe here has no equal. The queues are short, the prices low (4 euro).
Medici Chapels and Michelangelo's New Sacristy
The New Sacristy of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, designed and decorated by Michelangelo between 1520 and 1534, is an absolute masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture. The tombs of Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici, with the allegorical figures of Day, Night, Dawn and Dusk, are among the most intense works ever created.
Yet very many visitors to the Uffizi do not know that this jewel lies a few steps away.
Museo Nazionale del Bargello
The 13th-century palace that was the first seat of the Florentine government now houses the museum of medieval and Renaissance sculpture. Donatello's David (c. 1440 - the first bronze male nude in millennia), Michelangelo's Bacchus and Ghiberti's panels for the Baptistery doors make this museum essential.