Museums of Florence

The Museums of Florence form a key element of the cultural and artistic character of the city. Of the 15 most visited Italian art museums and galleries, five are in Florence. The number and proximity of the works of art in the museums of Florence can trigger Stendhal syndrome on visitors who try to see them all, as evidenced by hospital records of hundreds of visitors each year affected by the syndrome. The art in Florence was one of the elements that contributed to the central part of the city being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The art in Florence is inherently linked to the Medici family, who collected considerable holdings of paintings, sculptures, furnishings and art objects. Unlike other cities, the Florence collections are the property of the city, thanks to Anna Maria Luisa de Medici (died 1743, the last of the Florentine Medicis) who bequeathed all the family collections to the city as long as they remained united. A second issue is that unlike other major cities, Florence was not sacked, and hence did not undergo the looting experienced by cities such as Mantua, Modena, and Parma. And with the unification of Italy the Savoys moved a series of furnishings and works from other disused Italian palaces to their residence in Palazzo Pitti and the Medici villas. The protection continued even during the Second World War, and on 3 September 1944, when the Germans bombed every bridge in Florence (except Ponte Vecchio) in the Operazione Feurzauber, the museums were not attacked. Today, most of the city's art collections are managed by the state.