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Leprino Museum
Photo © Ufficio Turismo Unione Comuni Mugello
Photo © Ufficio Turismo Unione Comuni Mugello

Mugello's museums among art, nature and tradition

Discovering the great little museums that tell the history of the area

Mugello
by  Mugello

The Mugello diffuse museum is divided into 4 systems, each of which includes permanent exhibitions and educational workshops. Let's discover together the great little museums, guardians of local history and tradition.

Contents
  • 1.
    Art museums
  • 2.
    Nature museums
  • 3.
    Archaeological museums
  • 4.
    Museums of folk traditions
  • 5.
    One ticket, all the museums

Art museums

The Chini Museum, Borgo San Lorenzo
The Chini Museum, Borgo San Lorenzo - Credit: Ufficio Turismo Unione Comuni Mugello

Mugello is a land of artists and has been the birthplace of illustrious men, including Giotto and Fra Angelico. 

  • The Chini Museum, in Borgo San Lorenzo, houses an important collection of the works by artist Galileo Chini, a leading figure in the Art Nouveau style;
  • Giotto's House, in Vespignano, offers a picture story of the works of Giotto, who was born here in 1276;
  • The Fra Angelico Museum of Sacred Art, named after the great painter born in Rupecanina, a hamlet of Vicchio, houses important works of art and sacred objects from churches in the area;
  • The Sant'Agata Collection of Sacred Art holds some masterpieces such as "The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine" by Neri di Bicci di Lorenzo and two angels by Andrea della Robbia;
  • The Bosco ai Frati Convent, in Lucigliano, is home to a small museum of sacred art, where the 1460 wooden Crucifix, attributed to Donatello or his workshop, is kept.

Nature museums

The Abbey of Moscheta
The Abbey of Moscheta - Credit: Ufficio Turismo Unione Comuni Mugello

The diffuse museum includes the Historical Apennine Landscape Museum, located in the beautiful Moscheta Abbey surrounded by the striking woods of the Giogo-Casaglia complex.

Archaeological museums

The Dicomano district archaeological museum
The Dicomano District Archaeological Museum - Credit: Ufficio Turismo Unione Comuni Mugello

You can retrace the history of the peoples who have inhabited Mugello and Val di Sieve by visiting the archaeological sites and museums of the area and participating in the two museum-workshops specializing in the prehistoric, ancient and medieval sectors.

  • The Dicomano District Archaeological Museum collects archaeological heritage from Prehistory to the Renaissance and displays a truly unique collection of Etruscan stelae and cippus;
  • The Sant'Agata Archaeological Documentation Center houses a collection of archaeological finds dating from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages, including the "world's oldest millstone" with which the oldest flour was prepared. In addition, a prehistoric village with full-size huts has been reconstructed outside;
  • The Upper Mugello Archaeological Museum, in Palazzuolo sul Senio, displays evidence of the presence of man in Upper Mugello, including the "warrior's tomb" from the 7th-6th century BC;
  • The Archaeological Site at Frascole uncovers the impressive remains of a large Etruscan building still under study;
  • The Archaeological Site at Montaccianico, near Scarperia, investigates the destruction of the Ubaldini castle in 1306 at the hands of the Florentines, which changed the fate of Mugello, eventually making it the "farm" of Florence and the Medici.

Museums of folk traditions

Palazzo dei Capitani, Palazzuolo sul Senio
Palazzo dei Capitani, Palazzuolo sul Senio - Credit: Ufficio Turismo Unione Comuni Mugello

Its traditions, history and people are told in seven museums:

  • The Museum of Cutting Tools, housed inside Palazzo dei Vicari in Scarperia, documents the deep rootedness of the knife in the history and daily life of the village;
  • The Museum of Sant'Agata artisan and peasant by Leprino tells the story of life in the little town of Sant'Agata through the animated figures designed and realised by Faliero Lepri, known as Leprino;
  • The MUGOT (Gothic Line Tuscany Museum), in Ponzalla, preserves the memory of the war events of September 1944 along the Gothic Line between Futa and Giogo. It is also possible to take an excursion to the battlefield;
  • The Casa d'Erci Rural Museum and the Faini Mill, in Grezzano, tell the story of life in the old farming world with objects, everyday tools and accurate reconstructions in a large farmhouse surrounded by the green Mugello countryside;
  • The Vine and Wine Museum, in Rufina, exhibits the tools for vine cultivation and wine production and storage, documenting the history of Chianti Rufina;
  • The Museum of the Mountain Folk, in Palazzuolo sul Senio, collects more than a thousand objects that tell the story of the local people of the first half of the 20th century;
  • The Pietra Serena Museum, in Firenzuola, houses artifacts and tools of stonemasons related to the Pietra Serena quarrying tradition, and the Bruscoli Museum with its ethnographic collection.

One ticket, all the museums

The map of Mugello's museums
The map of Mugello's museums - Credit: Unione dei Comuni Mugello

You can buy a Museum Card that allows you to visit all the museums of the Diffuse Museum at a reduced price. The offer is valid for one year from the date of purchase of the first ticket.

Last but not least, the museums offer many activities dedicated to children, from workshops and educational activities to the Activity Book, to play and learn together with your children.

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