Visit the Museums of Tuscany

Siena – National Picture Gallery (Pinacoteca Nazionale)
This palace among the various museums of Tuscany, houses the finest and most complete collection of Sienese painting in existence, from its origins to the 18th century. On its walls alternate works by Duccio, the Lorenzetti brothers, Simone Martini, Francesco di Giorgio, Beccafumi, Sodoma, Francesco Vanni, and Bernardino Mei.

On the top floor, visitors are pleasantly surprised by the Spannocchi-Piccolomini collection, which includes masterpieces by artists such as Lorenzo Lotto and Albrecht Dürer. An unforgettable visit for lovers of Sienese art and Northern European painting.

Prato – Diocesan Museum
The museum preserves a beautiful collection of paintings, sculptures, goldsmith works, textiles, and miniatures, with the oldest pieces dating back to the 11th–12th centuries. Together, these works tell the story of Prato and its Cathedral through the centuries, for this reason it reppresents an important visit among the museums of Tuscany.

The jewel of the collection is Donatello’s famous pulpit, originally created for the façade of the Cathedral and moved here for conservation reasons after restoration. Made of marble, bronze, and mosaic tesserae, it is still used for the public display of the relic of the Sacred Girdle of the Virgin.

Pisa – National Museum of San Matteo
Among Tuscany’s museums beyond the most famous tourist destinations, the National Museum of San Matteo is one of the most interesting visits. It houses a rich collection of gold-ground panel paintings from the 12th to the 14th centuries, as well as important Renaissance sculptures and works of art.

Artists such as Nicola Pisano, Simone Martini, Gentile da Fabriano, Masaccio, Donatello, and Ghirlandaio are represented alongside important local painters including the master of San Martino, Giunta Pisano and Francesco Traini. Visit the Museums of Tuscany, they are an artistic heritage of inestimable value.

Pistoia – Civic Museum
As another suggestion for visiting the museums of Tuscany I recommend the Civic Museum of Pistoia, located inside the imposing Palazzo Comunale begun in 1295, is the city’s most important museum. It allows visitors to journey through seven centuries of Pistoian and Florentine art (13th–19th centuries).

The collection includes paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts from suppressed churches and convents, as well as acquisitions and bequests such as the Puccini Collection. Notable works include a 13th-century panel of Saint Francis and the Madonna della Pergola by B. Detti.

Arezzo – Museum of Medieval and Modern Art
Housed in Palazzo Bruni Ciocchi, known as ‘della Dogana,’ one of the most beautiful Renaissance palaces in the city, this museum is based on two main collections: works belonging to the Fraternita dei Laici and to the Municipality of Arezzo.

Highlights include the 13th-century Madonna and Child by Margarito d’Arezzo, the Madonna of Mercy by Parri Spinelli, works by Bartolomeo della Gatta, and Giorgio Vasari’s monumental Banquet for the Wedding of Esther and Ahasuerus. Due to the richness of its collections it can certainly be counted among the most representative museum of Tuscany and Arezzo area.

Lucca – Villa Guinigi and Palazzo Mansi Museums
These two museums, housed in important historic buildings in the city center, display collections closely connected to the territory of Lucca, covering a vast chronological span.

From local archaeological finds dating back to the 8th century BC to artists such as Angelo Puccinelli, Matteo Civitali, and Pompeo Batoni, these museums also feature major Italian artists of different centuries, making these museums among the most important in the country and a visit of them is a unique experience. It is undoubtedly one of the most popolar museum visit in Tuscany.

Carrara – Civic Marble Museum
Opened in 1982 to document the local culture of marble, the Civic Marble Museum of Carrara offers an engaging visit of the Museums of Tuscany dedicated to the promotion and preservation of this important aspect of history and culture of the region.

The collections trace the material culture of marble in Carrara from Roman times, through the extraction activity of Michelangelo’s era, up to the present day. A marble library of more than 300 samples showcases important Italian marbles and significant granites and stones from around the world.

Livorno – Giovanni Fattori Civic Museum
Among the Museums visits in Tuscany, I’d like to point out this museum located in the prestigious Villa Mimbelli houses an important collection dedicated to 19th-century Italian painting, particularly Tuscan and Livornese art.

In addition to Giovanni Fattori, leading representatives of the Macchiaioli movement such as Silvestro Lega, Telemaco Signorini, Giovanni Boldini, and Vincenzo Cabianca are featured, alongside later post-Macchiaioli and Divisionist artists. In the vision of this Museum of Tuscany one of the best showcases of italian painting between the XIX end XX centuries.

Grosseto – Archaeological Museum of the Maremma
The visit at this Museum, haused in a 19th-century building that once served as the old courthouse, will illustrate to you the rich archaeology of the Maremma region.

Founded in 1860 by Canon Giovanni Chelli, the collection includes Etruscan cinerary urns from Volterra and Chiusi, as well as finds from the ancient cities of Roselle, Vetulonia, and Vulci. Among the Museums of Tuscany this visit offers a valuable opportunity to explore a less-known yet historically significant part of Tuscany.