Музей Archeological Museum of Gonfienti

The Rocca Strozzi and the Archeological Museum of Gonfienti

You are now at the Rocca Strozzi. Today this castle appears to be the fusion of three distinct buildings: the body of the Rocca structure itself, with its military fortifications, the adjacent built spaces that attest to the castle’s later transformation into a villa-farm arranged around an internal courtyard, and a garden with various annexes in which the rural architectural complex existed inside the military architecture. The impressive grandeur of the fortress looms over the surrounding area, with the high bulk of its tower and its segment of defensive walls.

The existence of the Rocca Strozzi is attested by an act of donation, dated to1378, by Carlo Strozzi in favor of his sons. This document describes the Rocca as a fortified palace with towers, houses, and cottages, protected by an external moat that served to complete the circuit of walls protecting Campi from the other side of the Bisenzio river. The construction of the walls of Campi Bisenzio dates from the same years, and was commissioned in 1376 by the Florentine Republic, to give the outlying town a defensive bulwark for the Florentine possessions in the adjacent countryside.

The installation of the Museum has involved the use of the rooms on the ground floor of the villa-farmhouse, and those of the former wine cellar, with a projection of the exhibition routes, shared with the local Cultural Administration authority. There are three sections of the museum exhibition, and they pursue—in chronological order—the diverse epochs in which the territory of Gonfienti has been inhabited on a stable basis: the Bronze Age, the Etruscan Age, and the Roman Age.

The ticket office closes 30 minutes before the Museum closes.

Winter Hours (October 1st - May 31st)

Wednesday 9.00 - 13.00

Thursday 9.00 - 13.00 and 15.00 - 18.00

Friday 9.00 - 13.00

Saturday 15.00 - 18.00

Sunday 10.00 - 13.00 and 15.00 - 18.00

Summer Hours (June 1st - September 30th)

Wednesday 15.00- 19.00*

Thursday 9.00 - 13.00

Friday 9.00 - 13.00

Saturday 10.00 - 13.00 and 15.30 - 18.30

Sunday 10.00 - 13.00 and 15.30 - 18.30

* for the occasional evening openings of the center, the Wednesday time will be 18.00-23.00

Credits

Texts preparation:

Gabriella Poggesi

Giovanni Millemaci

Arianna Vernillo

Paola Perazzi

Francesca Bertini

Images preparation:

Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Firenze e le province di Pistoia e Prato

Comune di Campi Bisenzio (City of Campi Bisenzio)