The
museum, located since 1956 in the former convent
of the Oblate Sisters, exhibits plans, paintings,
etchings or prints that document the history and
the appearance of Florence from its origins down
to the period in which the town became capital
of Italy. One of the most important and extraordinary
documents is the so-called “della Catena”
plan, a perfect 19th reproduction of the late
15th century original preserved in the Friedrich
Museum of Berlin. The other sections exhibit oil
and tempera paintings representing historical
events and typical scenes of the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries.
It is worth stopping to take a close look at the
large lunettes by Giusto Utens (1599), dedicated
to the main Medici villas, and at the very famous
collection of etchings by Giuseppe Zocchi (1744),
dedicated to Florentine churches, palaces and
villas. Also worth a visit are the etchings by
Telemaco Signorini (1835-1901).
A section of the museum is reserved to the works
of Giuseppe Poggi (1811-1901), the Florentine
architect and town planner, and to his drawings
and projects for the enlargement and transformation
of the town after 1865.
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