The “Palazzo del Bargello”, dating to 1255, was the first “Pallazzo” or “Capitano del Popolo de Firenze”. In 1261 it became the “Palazzo del Podestà” serving as a government center, until what we know today as the “Palazzo Vecchio”, the new government center of Firenze, was built.
In the meanwhile, the “Palazzo del Podestà”, was the place where justice was imparted, was the prison and place of executions. Later, now converted into the National Museum of Bargello, it was the home to a large collection of Tuscan Renaissance sculptures that includes works by Michelangelo and Donatello, among other great artists.
