Horne Museum

At Horne Museum, at Via dei Benci, 6, a Florentine palazzo is arranged to evoke a home from the 15th and 16th centuries. The rooms bring together furniture, ceramics, books, paintings and other works collected by English architect and art historian Herbert Percy Horne. Look closely at the medieval paintings, housewares and furniture, with pieces spanning the 13th to 17th centuries. It is a quieter, more intimate way to explore Florence’s art and domestic history than a large museum visit.

A Florentine home shaped by Horne

The museum occupies Palazzo Corsi on Via dei Benci. In 1911, English architect, art historian and collector Herbert Percy Horne bought the palazzo and set about arranging it as a Renaissance home. His aim was to give his collection a setting that recalled a Florentine residence from the 15th and 16th centuries.

The rooms bring together paintings, drawings, prints, books and furnishings. Ceramics and household objects help give the collection a domestic context, while the range of works extends from the 1200s to the 1600s. Rather than seeing objects in isolation, you move through an arrangement intended to suggest how art and useful things might sit within a historic home.

Paintings, furniture and household objects

Medieval paintings are a particular focus, alongside furniture and housewares. The collection also includes antiques and statues, offering several ways to look at the period beyond paintings alone.

A guidebook is available at the entrance and can help identify objects throughout the rooms. Descriptions are not always displayed beside individual pieces, so having the booklet to hand makes it easier to follow what you are seeing. Check on arrival which rooms and any temporary exhibition areas are open, as parts of the museum may not be accessible during a visit.