Museo Bandini di Fiesole

The Museo Bandini owes its name to canon Angiolo Maria Bandini, man of outstanding sensitivity for antiques and collectables, who merged his collection of art works in a “Sacred Museum”. In 1795, indeed, a canon from Fiesole who purchased the church of Sant’Ansano dating back to the 11th century, and placed the paintings from the 13th to the 15th century, the small set of Byzantine works and terracotta sculptures of Della Robbia workshop, thus gathering important testimonies for the Florentine and Tuscan Medieval art. Upon his death, in 1803, Bandini donated his sacred art collection to the Bishop and Chapter of Fiesole. After about one century, his works were moved from Sant’Ansano and located in the Museum built by Giuseppe Castellucci and opened in 1913, which still hosts them today. The museum was recently renovated and the works were restored and displayed according to type and origin: paintings are displayed on the upper floor, sculptures and works coming from the territory of Fiesole are displayed on the ground floor.