10 History Museums in Florence Historic Center That You Shouldn't Miss

For preservation purposes, many significant works have been moved from the Duomo to this nearby museum.

Housed in an old palace that was restored in the mid-1800s, this science museum houses an impressive collection of scientific instruments dating from the 13th century.

A massive Gothic church housing the remains of some of the biggest names in European history, from Michelangelo to Galileo.

Incredible Florence is an unprecedented journey through the 2000 years of Florence's history. An exciting, 40-minute-long multimedia production, conceived and produced by Crossmedia Group. In the unparalleled setting of Santo Stefano al Ponte, near to Ponte Vecchio, an immersive experience that is at once show and exhibition: the engrossing story of Florentine places, events, and great historical figures with their immotal works, becomes a unique opportunity to better know, understand and share as never before the incredible history of a city that is both a masterpiece and a world heritage site. Rich in special effects, 3-D reconstructions, multiple projections of images, and original filmed pieces, Incredible Florence gives audiences of all ages and origins, Italian and international, the opportunity to let themselves be led through the centuries, following a succession of different sensations. The exhibition area offers a complete and immersive use of multimedia, made possible by the exceptional visual impact of the images produced by the Matrix X-Dimension system, designed exclusively for this video installation. 24 laser projectors transmit over 40 million pixels onto the 11 giant screens of the impressive and striking set-up: just think that on the central and largest screen - 10x13m. (130 m2) - you will be able to enjoy a resolution 6 times greater than Full HD. The pleasant impression of the privileged experience of "being inside" a unique history is completed by the sound effects and the magnificent original soundtrack, composed for this purpose by the versatile musician Marco Lamioni, reproduced in extremely high quality by a state-of-the-art 3D audio system.

The Misericordia was born when the Dominican Pietro da Verona, arrived in Florence to fight the heretic patari. Citizens ‘companies were formed – the Companies of the Faith – which in a few months were the opponents’ right. At that point, laid down the sword, those same men cradled the rosary to devote themselves to works of mercy. And so, almost 8 centuries ago, an Institution was set up that put itself concretely at the service of the neighbor and became an example of boundless charity, inspiring the birth of numerous sisters: today there are 700 Misericordia in Italy in the world. The role played by the Florentine association, as shown by numerous archival documents, became more and more a social service. So that its history went to intertwine, firmly, with that of the city that was its cradle. Several times the Medici, the Lorraine, but also the now united Italy, turned to the Misericordia to solve problems of a collective nature.

The first Medici palace, the home of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent and the workplace of artists of the calibre of Donatello, Michelangelo, Paolo Uccello, Benozzo Gozzoli and Botticelli. The Renaissance house… where it all began.

Over the years the Collection has grown so much, now reaching more than 243 models, that is has overtaken various collections in museums all around the world. Each of the machines in the Collection has been built using materials of the time being wood, metal, ropes and fabrics and interestingly, in the course of construction, many astounding mechanical findings have been revealed. Our research team has expanded over the years and now includes a really talented study group of scholars consisting of Historians, Engineers, Architects, Educators, Artisans and Craftsmen, whose expertise and knowledge has contributed enormously to improve the outcome of our scientific and historical research. The Collection has also been enriched with ‘Vitruvian Machines’, at least those we know of thanks to the writings of that great Roman Engineer of the first century BC., by other important ‘Greek-Roman Machines’ and some from the era of ‘Ancient Egypt’. Our research team also undertakes projects on behalf of third parties and is very proud of the rediscovery of the lost mechanism of Leonardo’s Robot and a new hypothesis for the motion of the Mechanical Lion. Of key importance to us is that the findings and rewards of our research and work is accessible for everyone to witness and enjoy. Therefore, in addition to The Collection being available to Museums, Art Galleries, Organizations, private exhibitions and for shopping mall displays, we’ve made provision for rental opportunities to smaller groups for School activities, Conferences and even Renaissance themed dinners.