These galleries highlighted some of the best High Medieval, Renaissance, Mannerist, and Baroque art that Florence has to offer. Highlights include Brunelleschi’s Dome, The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, Verrocchio’s David, and Donatello’s David. Each of the galleries have very different themes and flows to them, so we’d recommend spacing out the visits to each one so that you can truly appreciate the nuance that goes into the curation of each gallery and go through the exhibits unhurried by a schedule. For ordering the visits, we’d recommend that you visit the Duomo and the Bargello Galleries in one day and take another day to visit the Uffizi Gallery.

To have a comprehensive visit of the Duomo, we’d strongly recommend visiting the Cathedral and Baptistery first, and then purchasing a ticket for the Duomo Museum and going through it immediately after. The Cathedral and Baptistery themselves are stunning examples of Gothic-style architecture. As you walk into the Cathedral, the bone white walls are broken up with intricate stained-glass windows depicting religious figures watching over congregants. Over the entrance, there is a circular piece depicting Mary, mother of Jesus, overlooking the whole of the church. Walking forward, towards the aps, the high, white, vaulted ceilings give way to Brunelleschi’s infamous dome. The interior is decorated with an elaborate fresco depicting Jesus and his holy host of angels presiding over heaven. 

 After you’re done appreciating the interior beauty of the Duomo, make your way over to the Duomo’s Museum. Its focus is on appreciating the sheer brilliance of the dome itself and all of the hard work that it took to create the Duomo as it exists today. Here, you will see the life size, proposed models of the Duomo, models of art pieces within the Baptistry and the Cathedral, and other religious artifacts. This museum provides background on the architectural and religious story of the Duomo. It gives the viewer a more nuanced understanding of the Duomo and the architectural feats that were accomplished during its construction. This, in turn, allows the viewer to better appreciate the internal and external beauty of the Duomo, giving visitors the most comprehensive experience. Although going to the Duomo’s Cathedral, Baptistry, and Museum seems like a lot for one day, we were able to go through all three in a couple hours. 

The Museum Gallery is relatively small, and groups of 2-4 people can go through the whole thing in approximately 90 minutes. The Cathedral and Baptistery, even though they have very intricate artwork, are not completely covered in frescoes or mosaics, so the average viewer can make their way through both in approximately 30-60 minutes. We’d recommend going through these tours in the late morning – early afternoon and getting lunch afterwards. There are several inexpensive, but filling lunch spots nearby, which is good for broke college students and families alike.