Palazzo Mozzi, Oltrarno, Firenze

The Piazza de' Mozzi takes its name from the Mozzi family, one of the most important in Florence between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The family, of well-known papal bankers, lived in the Palazzo dei Mozzi, located at the end of the square, with a turret that still scrutinizes the traffic on the bridge.

Palazzo Mozzi

Palazzo Mozzi or Palazzo de' Mozzi is an early Renaissance palace, located at the end of the Piazza de' Mozzi that emerges from Ponte alle Grazie and leads straight to the palace where via San Niccolò becomes via de' Bardi in the Quartiere of Santo Spirito (San Niccolò) in the Oltrarno section of Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. The 13th-century palace housed the gallery of the highly successful antiquarian Stefano Bardini, of which the remnants were left to the commune, where they assembled the Museo Bardini or Mozzi Bardini, displaying Florentine art and artifacts up to the early Renaissance. The gardens elaborated against the hillside behind the palace were added mainly by Bardini.

Giardino Bardini, veduta su Palazzo Mozzi, retro, Oltrarno, Firenze [0]

Museum Bardini

In 1881 Bardini acquired the deconsecrated church and convent of San Gregorio facing piazza dei Mozzi in the Oltrarno and set about transforming it into his opulent residence and restoration studio, Palazzo Bardini, now housing the Museo Bardini, with his collections of paintings, sculpture, most notably a marble Charity by Tino da Camaino, 15th- and 16th-century Italian furniture, ceramics, tapestry, arms; stringed and keyboard musical instruments, including one of only two surviving oval spinets by Bartolomeo Cristofori; Roman and Etruscan antiquities and 15th- and 16th-century architectural fittings, including paneled and painted ceilings, chimneypieces and door surrounds.[7] His example inspired his most successful protégé, Elia Volpi, to purchase and freely restore Palazzo Davanzati in the heart of Florence, and fill it with a similar range of art.

Among the works on display are:

Allegory of Charity, statue by Tino di Camaino
St Michael Archangel, painting by Antonio del Pollaiolo
Painted Crucifix, attributed to Bernardo Daddi
Madonna della Mela, carved wood statue by Donatello
Collections of decorative chests
Collections of weapons and armor
15th-century polychrome stuccoes and wooden sculpture
Collection of old musical instruments
Collections of frames, doors, ceramics, and painted ceilings

The second floor of the building exhibits the Corsi collection that comprises some works from the 12th to the 19th centuries, donated by Mrs. Carobbi, the widow of Corsi, in 1938.

 

 

The Giardino Bardini

The garden is composed of three separate areas, each created in a different time period, which adds to the architectural and agricultural diversity. The park's center contains the grand staircase that was constructed in the 17th century. On one side of the staircase you can find the Anglo-Chinese garden created in the 19th century. The other side of the staircase hosts the garden's agricultural park.[8]

Access is gained via the Via de' Bardi, just over the road from the Museo Bardini in the Oltrarno district of the city, although the gardens exit onto the Costa di San Giorgio, onto which the Forte di Belevedere and the Giardino di Boboli connect in turn.

Bardini Museum | The museum is open from Saturday to Monday from 11-17.
Address: Bardini Museum, Via dei Renai, 37 (Ponte alle Grazie), Florence

The Bardini garden has three different access points: Costa San Giorgio 2, Via dei Bardi 2/red, and the access from the Boboli gardens

Oltrarno and San Niccolò

Oltrarno, (or beyond the Arno), is one of Florence’s most authentic neighbourhoods. Oltrarno’s three historic quarters, San Niccolò, Santo Spirito, and San Frediano, are hip and trendy neighbourhoods, hidden away from the tourist crush. The bars and terraces that are mainly visited by the working locals in the morning and at noon, are populated by young people in the evening. In this district you will also find the only city beach of Firenze, la spiaggia sull'Arno, where you can sunbathe in the summer. River Urban Beach Terrazza Marasco is a great place to enjoy a relaxing, open-air sunset along the river banks.

From there you can walk up from Porto San Niccolò along the Viale Giuseppe Poggi, or climbing the stairs of Scalea del Monte alle Croci.
A pleasant walk in the heart of the left bank of the Arno river, takes you from the Ponte Vecchio all the way up to Piazzale Michelangelo.

Walking in Florence | Strolling through San Niccollò, from Ponte Vecchio to Piazzale Michelangelo