To those unfamiliar with Florence, the name may not ring a bell. Yet the Martelli were a powerful noble family well known in the city as early as the 15th century. Prominent bankers with close ties to the Medici family, they held onto their wealth and influence for centuries, inhabiting the family’s historic residence on Via Zannetti until 1986, the year of the death of Francesca (1886–1986), who remained unmarried and was the last direct descendant.
Casa Martelli was opened to the public in 2009 and is now one of Florence’s most fascinating smaller museums. The rooms, objects and artworks offer insight into the lifestyle of these distinguished figures of Florentine nobility. Let us begin with the items still preserved in the house, and follow the story of the Martelli family through the centuries.
The historic bond with the Medici and connections to the world of art
There was a tradition at Casa Martelli: when the firstborn son married, he could make changes to the family palace—owned by the Martelli since the 16th century—to suit his own taste. Niccolò Martelli (1778–1853) upheld this custom. For his wife Caterina de’ Ricci, he had a new summer apartment fitted out with “pastoral-style” frescoes by Niccolò Contestabili: the sala boschereccia “woodland room” on the ground floor, which is one of the museum’s most enchanting spaces. Ruins, classical statues and human figures are set within a lush forest, preserving to this day an atmosphere of charm and wonder.
But Niccolò didn’t stop there. In the following years, he continued to shape the building’s decorative scheme, this time on the piano nobile. Determined to celebrate the past glories of his ancestors, he commissioned several artists to decorate the ceilings of the first three rooms with historical scenes. The second room, once again entrusted to Contestabili in 1820, depicts the morganatic1 marriage between Cosimo I de’ Medici and Camilla Martelli. The union, which took place in 1570 following the death of Cosimo’s first wife Eleonora da Toledo, confirmed the deep and lasting bond between the two families. From that union, Virginia was born in 1568.
Roberto Martelli and Donatello’s workshop
The first and third rooms were instead decorated by Antonio Marini. One shows the Duke of Calabria’s granting of the golden fleurs-de-lis to be added to the Martelli coat of arms in 1455; the other shows Roberto Martelli (1408–1464) visiting Donatello‘s workshop—a scene that highlights yet another significant aspect of the family’s legacy: their long-standing involvement in the arts.
Roberto, second of thirteen grandchildren of the founding patriarch Ugolino, managed the Medici bank in Basel. Backed by his considerable wealth, he commissioned several works from Donatello: the Arme di Casa Martelli (c. 1460; later central to another fascinating episode), the San Giovanni Battista (c. 1455–1460), and the Crocifissione (c. 1450–1455), all now held at the Museo del Bargello. These and other works by Donatello—including the San Giorgio for Orsanmichele and the Putti for the Cathedral’s choir lofts—can be seen depicted in the ceiling of the room. In the foreground, beside a stool, sits a wicker basket reminiscent of the magnificent Tomba di Niccolò e Fioretta Martelli (Roberto’s parents), also crafted by Donatello and praised by Vasari2 in his Vite, for the family chapel in the Basilica of San Lorenzo.
As early as the 15th century, the Martelli made every effort to reinforce their alliance with the Medici, and were among the first to provide financial support for the building of San Lorenzo, commissioned by Florence’s ruling family.
The daily life of a patrician family in the 18th century
In the Martelli salons, business was conducted, music and culture discussed, people danced and sipped hot chocolate surrounded by works of art. This is the image the family chose to present to visitors in the first room of the picture gallery—a collection first developed thanks to Teresa Gerini, wife of Niccolò Martelli (1634–1711)3 and daughter of an important art collector. Their wedding also prompted the construction of the grand staircase leading to the first floor, adorned with a splendid wrought-iron balustrade. From then on, the Martelli home was enriched with paintings as well as goldsmithing objects, prints and books.
Among the earliest works in the collection, in addition to La congiura di Catilina by Salvator Rosa (late 17th century) and the Giuramento di Bruto contro i Tarquini per la morte di Lucrezia (late 17th century) by Luca Giordano—both in the first room – there were also a Cucina by Caravaggio (unfortunately lost) and La Gallega by Diego Velázquez, now in a private collection. By the mid-18th century, such masterpieces had earned the Martelli great prestige and admiration.
A family portrait
During the same period, Donatello’s San Giovanni Battista also arrived at Casa Martelli, passed down from the canon Bernardo Martelli (1673–1752), last descendant of Roberto’s line. To commemorate the painting’s exceptional value, the family commissioned a suitable tribute: a family portrait – or rather, a conversation piece, a genre of painting that was very fashionable in Northern Europe at the time. Dated 1777 and painted by Giovan Battista Benigni, it depicts the elegance and refinement of the family: in one of the gallery rooms, seated on the left are the head of the family, Niccolò, and his wife Maddalena Tempi. Next to them, their eldest son Marco (1740–1813) turns his gaze towards his wife Teresa Pucci, who stands alongside the abbot Giuseppe, Niccolò’s third-born son. On either side are the two children – Niccolò and Maddalena – Marco’s offspring. Behind the group, in a central yet discreet position, the servant Filippo Neri Baldini is serving hot chocolate – a refined and very expensive beverage at the time. On the right, we see the elderly Count Gerini, while behind him a couple of visitors admire a sculpture: the very same San Giovanni Battista that had just returned to the Florentine collection.
This isn’t the only recognisable artwork in the painting: behind the group, in a prominent position, is the aforementioned Congiura di Catilina, and on the left wall, the Velázquez’s masterpiece, later sold. The surrounding portraits, the landscapes paintings, and the precious fashionable furnishings confirm the variety of the collection and the Martelli’s sophisticated taste.
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Romantic scandals and political affairs
Like any family, even noble ones hide their share of skeletons in the closet—sometimes turning into public scandal. One of the best known involves Marco Martelli, firstborn and father to three illegitimate children from a secret relationship. To preserve the family honour, the inheritance was redirected to the second-born, Alessandro (1812–1904), who formally married Marianna Valuti Zati of the Dukes of San Clemente and became grandfather to the last owners of the House.
It was on this occasion that the ceiling painting in the Sala dell’Amore was created—rediscovered during the 2008 restorations—depicting Love Ruling the World. Cupid is flanked by allegories of Temperance and Legal Union: an unmistakable message about the moral values upheld at Casa Martelli.
We now find ourselves close to the present day, but before concluding, let’s take a final step back into the history of this long and complex family to revisit a detail mentioned earlier—one with a key role in the museum’s creation. Back in the days of another Marco Martelli (1740–1813), who was exiled to France along with other Tuscan nobles by order of the French governor during the Napoleonic occupation, the Florentine gallery continued to grow from afar. Among Marco’s most successful acquisitions were two panels by Pieter Brueghel il giovane: Festa di nozze in una casa contadina and Scena campestre (1564), now placed above the doors in the third room. But there’s another reason Marco deserves to be remembered. While still in Florence, he had a Donatello coat of arms transferred from one of his other properties to Casa Martelli. Commissioned in the 15th century by Roberto Martelli, it was installed atop the main staircase—though the one seen today is a copy. The original is held at the Bargello. How did it get there? That story is closely tied to the Museo Martelli’s very foundation.
A Museum born by chance: the Bardini inheritance
Ugo Bardini, son of the great antiquarian Stefano Bardini, died in 1965, leaving precise instructions regarding his estate. According to his will, the inheritance was to be granted to whichever public institution succeeded in selling the estate in order to purchase two works—dated no later than the 16th century—to be donated to the Uffizi (if paintings) or the Bargello (if sculptures). The estate was valued at over 35 billion old lire, and the matter remained unresolved for years. Until, in 1995, the Italian State created a commission to identify suitable works. For the Gallerie degli Uffizi, two panels by Antonello da Messina were acquired: Madonna col bambino e due Angeli and San Giovanni Evangelista (c. 1465–1470). For the Bargello, the choice fell on the Arme monumentale in pietra della famiglia Martelli sculpted by Donatello for Roberto Martelli. This monumental pietra serena shield features a golden griffin held up by a “barker” figure using ribbons tied around his neck. The man’s straining face conveys the great effort of the gesture, imbuing the rigidity of the heraldic emblem with Donatello’s characteristic vitality.
At the time, the Arme Martelli belonged to the Curia of Florence, part of Francesca Martelli’s bequest along with the house itself. Once the acquisition was complete, the Church handed over not only the sculpture but the entire building and its contents. This marked the beginning of the adaptation works that would transform Casa Martelli into a museum and revive the story of this illustrious and long-standing dynasty.
A rare example of an intact family residence, Casa Martelli is a jewel of Italy’s cultural heritage—not only for the richness of its artworks, but also for the deeply human stories it preserves. A cultural, historical and social legacy of inestimable value.
- A morganatic marriage was a union between individuals of unequal social rank. Although it was an official ceremony, the spouse of lower status (typically the wife) and her children had no rights of succession.
- An artist, architect and man of letters at the Medici court, Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) was also the author of Le vite de’ più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani, da Cimabue insino a’ tempi nostri (first published in 1550 and expanded in 1568), a foundational work in the history of Italian art.
- From the 17th century until the mid-19th century, all Martelli firstborn sons were named either Niccolò or Marco.
