The first group by the Photo Archive was formed at the beginning of the twentieth century to collect, sort and store the photographic documentation produced by the offices responsible for the management and conservation of the monumental buildings corporation. The photographic archive functioned, in fact, to serve the need to document the pieces made by the Office of Fine Arts and Antiquities of the Municipality of Florence, established in 1907. Therefore, during the twentieth century there were progressive photographic campaigns relating to the maintenance and restoration carried out by the Office, named after World War II Repartition III Fine Arts. In the mid-eighties of the twentieth century, an independent Municipal Museum Service was established, which has been entrusted with the management of the catalog of the artistic heritage of the city and the Photo Archive. Strictly related to the materials of the offices responsible for heritage conservation have thus come to support some valuable historical funds, received by way of donation or acquisition campaigns.
read allToday the photo archive contains various resources of photo types, consisting of negatives on slab and film, and positives on paper, and in transparency in digital format. Among the most interesting pieces that it preserves, the Baccani Collection, the Collection of Fine Arts and the Historical Collection Bardini, are the ones that stand out. Donated to the City of Florence in 1898 by photographer Joseph Baccani and later enlarged by additional acquisitions, the eponymous collection is comprised of 300 slabs and 4 albums that portray the appearance of the city during the demolition of the old center which began in the late nineteenth century. The Fine Arts Collection documents the pieces made by the municipal offices in the twentieth century on the monumental buildings corporation. The Historical Collection Bardini, recovered in 1993 and still in the process of reorganization, consists of about seven slabs from the private archive of the antiquarian and collector, Stefano Bardini. From the late twentieth century, there are regularly carried photographic campaigns to boost Photo Archive and documentation of works of art of the civic museums. The photographic collection, whose overall size is estimated at around 112,000 assets are currently being catalogued.
hideVia Sant'Egidio, 21 - First floor
50122 - Firenze
Access to the Photo Archive is allowed by appointment, please send an e-mail to musei.civici@comune.fi.it
It is necessary to specify in detail the subject of research, to allow operators of the Photo Archive to identify materials that need to be made available for consultation and schedule an appointment