MUSEUM OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS –
Accademia Gallery

The Museum, now part of the Accademia Gallery, houses an ancient and precious collection of musical instruments dating from 1568 to the 20th century. Its original core dates back to the acquisitions made by the Medici Court.

The splendid court dances, concerts, and the first theatrical performances, which originated in Florence in the 1600s within the context of the Camerata de’ Bardi (which included Vincenzo Galilei, father of Galileo), caught the special attention of the Medici rulers, who increasingly patronized the purchase of technically advanced instruments, supporting the work of luthiers and organ builders.

An example is the renowned Bartolomeo Cristofori, who was summoned to Florence in 1698 and created the first piano, although only his description remains. Among the most important instruments in the Museum’s collection are violins, violas, and cellos by Antonio Stradivari, an Amati cello, Domenico Del Mela‘s upright piano, and the Floriani harpsichord. Among the wind instruments are the Giorgi flute, the Briccialdi flute, and a “bimbonifono,” a trombone with a mechanism that allowed even the lowest brass instruments to perform specific virtuosic techniques such as legato and trills.

Giovacchino Bimboni designed it between 1849 and 1870. Enriched with new acquisitions, the collection was transferred from Palazzo Pitti to the “L. Cherubini” Conservatory of Music in 1863 and inaugurated in 1926.