Horne Museum

The Museo Horne in Florence is a major art museum housed in the former Palazzo Corsi in the Santa Croce district. The building's history goes back to the early 14th century, when it belonged to the Alberti family. It later passed to the Corsi family of cloth merchants, who had the complex remodeled in the early Renaissance style. The English art historian Herbert Percy Horne acquired the property in 1911 in order to display his extensive collection of Tuscan art from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Horne's aim was to authentically restore the appearance of a Florentine noble residence of the Renaissance. After his death, the collection passed to the Italian state under the terms of his will, and in 1921 the museum was opened to the public. Despite a severe flood of the Arno in 1966 that caused considerable damage, the institution remains an important place for the study of art history.

The collection focuses almost exclusively on Italian, mainly Tuscan, art and comprises more than 6,000 objects. Among the outstanding works is a panel of Saint Stephen by Giotto from his late period. Other paintings are by artists such as Simone Martini, Bernardo Daddi, Pietro Lorenzetti, and the Lippi brothers. Particularly valuable is a predella fragment by Masaccio, one of the rare surviving works by the master. Works by Benozzo Gozzoli, Piero di Cosimo, and Dosso Dossi are also represented. Alongside painting, the museum houses sculptures by Antonio Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano, and Lorenzo di Pietro. The graphic holdings include more than 1,000 drawings and prints, including works by Raphael, Bernini, Dürer, and Rubens.

In the restored rooms, you experience not only the artworks but also the historic atmosphere of the palace. Horne deliberately gathered furniture, ceramics, goldsmith work, coins, and everyday objects of the Renaissance in order to document the lifestyle of the period. These objects, which range from kitchen utensils to scientific instruments, complement the fine art and offer a comprehensive look at the culture of the era. Although the Museo Horne is often described in the literature as a smaller museum compared with the great Florentine collections, it is nevertheless regarded as one of the three most important institutions of its kind in the city that grew out of private collections.