Casa Martelli Museum

The Casa Martelli Museum in Florence (Museo di Casa Martelli) is a historic house with a family history going back to the days of the Medici, giving an authentic insight into a nobleman’s home. It has always remained within the same family and is the only museum-house in Florence that has not been refurbished by later owners,

Martelli is a family of bankers whose wealth and political power rose together with that of the Medici’s. The history of Casa Martelli starts in the 15th century when they bought their first property in Via Zanetti. Over time this property expanded and reached its current dimension in the mid-18th century, occupying almost the entire block between the Medici Chapels, Via Cerretani and Borgo San Lorenzo.

The Martelli’s were passionate art collectors and as a consequence Casa Martelli holds an impressive collection of paintings, with works from artists like Piero di Cosimo, Luca Giordano, and Domenico Beccafumi. Just like in the The Palatine Gallery, the paintings are displayed according to the 17th century tradition of covering entire walls.

A number of rooms are decorated with frescoes that apply the trompe l’oeil effect, most notably the Sala Giardino d’Inverno (Winter Garden Room), which was to make up for the fact that the house did not have an actual outside garden.