Florence: The Loggia del Bigallo
The 10-Minute Museum
Where the pedestrian and shopping street Via dei Calzaiuoli (street of the silk stocking-makers) gives onto the Baptistery's Piazza di San Giovanni stands a beautiful Medieval building, the Loggia del Bigallo, attributed to the architect/sculptor Alberto Arnoldi.
It was built in the years 1352-1358 for the confraternity Misericordia (meaning mercy), the "Venerabile Arciconfraternita della Misericordia di Firenze", which was a charitable organization that transported the ill, sustained prisoners and buried paupers,and which still exists near the loggia at 19/20 Piazza del Duomo.
In 1425 it shared the space with the the Compagnia del Bigallo, a confraternity named for the Ospedale (hospital) del Bigallo Santa Maria at Fonteviva in Chianti. Their mission was with orphaned and abandoned children.
The Misericordia moved in 1576.
See the map to understand the current locations of the Loggia del Bigallo and the home of the confraternity, labeled at the red marker on the map as the Museo della Misericordia de Firenze.
A loggia is a porch—in this case the ground floor open area.
When I visited in 2023 the entire building was enclosed in scaffolding and was being worked on.
I visited the loggia a few years prior to that, and the two women sitting in the entrance room explained to me that the 3 museum rooms, all on the ground floor, were open for viewing for a period of 10 minutes 3 times a day—at 10am, 12 noon, and 3pm.
They told me to return then, and we did, enjoying the old frescos and other displayed items but especially enjoying the novelty of visiting a museum adjacent to hoards of tourists and having it all to ourselves.
A highlight of the small exhibit is the Madonna della Misericordia.
At the bottom of her robe is this detail, a depiction of the Baptistery and of the Duomo, still under construction, with a suggestion of cladding (never carried out or completed) by Arnolfo di Cambio.
The artwork is attributed to the school of Bernardo Daddi, considered a leading painter of his generation. It was restored in 2012 with the support of Friends of Florence.
The story of the existing neo-Gothic facade is a fascinating one, begun in 1876 and completed in 1887, designed by the Florentine architect Emilio De Fabris.
I am hoping to learn more from travelers regarding the status of the building and if it is still the 10-minute museum that I experienced.
In researching the Loggia del Bigallo, I learned the story of the museum nearby, the Museo della Misericordia di Firenze. The address given for this is Piazza del Duomo 19/20, where it covers four floors and looks out on the fabulous piazza.
The site mentions that the Misericordia still does its charitable work, and this may explain why there were two ambulances at the ready when we visited the area.
Another little-known museum! Now I'm going to have to get back to Firenze to check it out.
Contact me! regarding the loggia or to share your own fantastic experiences.
Here is a list of sites I visited to gather information for this article.
Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls teaser for the Florence app. The app is listed at the Apple App Store for $4.99.
The Museums of Florence Museum of Bigallo page.
The visittuscany.com Bigallo page.
The Campus Florence site that lists the same weekday times that I remember and weekend times of 10am and 12 noon and the telephone number +39 055 288 496 for reservations.
The Friends of Florence site where they detail their 2012 funding of the restoration of the Madonna della Misericordia fresco.
The reidsitaly.com page where I grabbed the photo of the loggia that I used at the start of this article.