Museology: The Art of Collecting Objects Study + Internship in Florence Program Spring 2024 Semester

Through museum visits in Florence, students will realize that most of the artworks actually displayed in public museums once belonged to private collectors and were not produced to be seen by a large public. During the course, students will explore the history of collecting objects. They will start with the sacred collections of Classical temples, passing then to the libraries of Medieval monasteries and the ideas of the Abbot Suger. They will follow the growth of European National Museums of the nineteenth century (Louvre, British, Museums Island in Berlin) as symbols of national pride and the Florentine private collections transformed in foundations like the Bardini and Horne Museums. An in-depth study will be done from the late 16th century to the present day. Finally, they will face the role of museums in the contemporary world making personal research on Florence main museums? visitors.