the casa siviero in florence, italy

For extraordinary visiting hours please get in touch with: Ass. Amici dei Musei Fiorentini, Via degli Alfani, 39/49 Tel. 055.293.007

Rodolfo Siviero has bequeathed to Regione Toscana the collection of works of art he passionately collected during his life. Rodolfo Siviero was born in Guardistallo (Pisa) in 1911 and he died in Firenze in 1983.

He studied Arts at the University of Florence and then perfected himself in Berlin in history of art. During the war he became an agent of the Military Information Service and, after September 8th 1943, he joined the resistence mouvement creating in Florence an organization whose principal aim was to prevent Nazi troops from sacking Italian artistic patrimony.

After the war the above-mentioned organization was transformed into a commettee for the retrieval of works of art constituted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1946 Rodolfo Siviero was appointed plenipotentiary minister and he led the organization till his death. By a special agreement Regione Toscana has entrusted the menagement of Siviero House to "Associazione degli Amici dei Musei Fiorentini".

This is a most remarkable undertaking for the "Associazione" which will see to the opening of Siviero Collection. Besides that, in agreement with Regione Toscana, the "Associazione" will create in Siviero House a meeting point, the opportunity of studying works of art and their safeguard during wars, and the possibility of deepening the knowledge of Second World War events; in short they will make Siviero House a cultural center and a place where both meeting and studying.

Siviero House is located in a ground floor of the beautiful Poggi small palace in Lungarno Serristori where Siviero lived many years.
A keen collector and a refined literate, Siviero succeeded in collecting many works of art ranging from ancient to modern centuries, among which 15th century wooden statues, paintings on gold background, bronzes, terra-cottas, ancient reliquaries and magnificent forniture.

This House-Museum perfectly reflects the personality of its owner who loved art so deeply and it keeps the charme you can find in the paleces full of magnificent art collections Florence iherited from Bardini, Horne and Stibbert.

This is a patrimony which has not been completely studied yet but which gives the possibility of visiting a fascinating House-Museum full of the private treasures of a "James Bond" of the art.