My Saturday morning started off at the Bargello to get a better look at the istoriato maiolica exhibit. I took my time to watch the video on how maiolica is made and to walk around and find my favorite piece. I particularly liked the highly ornamented wash basins.
After checking it out, I decided to make the most of my visit and look through the rest of the museum. I went back to the Donatello room to study my favorite pieces more carefully (I'm started to recognize the various materials that statues are made out of!) and then wandered the rest of the halls.
There are pieces of a fountain on the ground level courtyard that I wish could be put back together into their original water-baring fountain. The fountain was designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati. Originally conceived for the Sala Grande in the Palazzo Vecchio, the fountain found its way to the Boboli gardens. There its pieces were dispersed throughout the landscape until the 17th century. And today it is put back together (sans water) along the back of the Bargello courtyard's center wall.
The "reconstructed" fountain.
Next I stared at Pietro Francavilla's Jason, standing over the dragon he slew and holding the golden fleece.
My viewpoint.
Other favorites included a case of jewelry and an ivory chess board by the Italian school. My one qualm as I explored these treasures and their surrounding rooms was that for the more "obscure" pieces, the Bargello museum labels were only in Italian. A rather hindersome affair for someone who did not purchase the audio tour and who is just starting to pick up a decent bit of Italian.
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