With the Duomo being the center of things spiritual in Florence, it was inevitable that many of the great artists of Florence would cross paths with it at one time or another, often being contracted to create some sort of decoration for the Campanile, Baptistery or Duomo itself. It was also inevitable that someone would eventually notice that centuries of being outdoors was taking a toll on these decorations, and that it would be desirable to move them indoors for their protection. The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Museum of the Works of the Duomo), located just behind the Duomo, was established in 1891 for this purpose. Over the years, many works have been moved to the museum from their original indoor and outdoor positions, with copies often being installed in the original locations. In the museum, the original pieces have undergone restoration where possible and have been placed on display.







The museum has a central courtyard which is the location at which Michelangelo carved his statue of David (originally intended as a Duomo decoration). The statue, after standing in front of the Palazzo Vecchio for centuries, is now in the Galleria dell'Accademia, which we'll see later. The courtyard is now used to display some statues which originally decorated the baptistery, and some of the original panels of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. The original doors remained in place until 1966, but were damaged when the Arno flooded disastrously during that year. The doors now on the Baptistery are copies (very good ones), and the some of the original panels have been placed on display in the courtyard.





Also on display in the museum are a number of drawings and models depicting plans for development of the Duomo, many of which never came to pass but are works of art in their own right.



One of the most interesting works in the museum is an unfinished Pieta which was sculpted by Michelangelo and intended for his own tomb. Part way through the work, Michelangelo became frustrated due to what he felt was the poor quality of the stone and abandoned it, giving it some disgusted whacks with his hammer. It was later repaired according to Michelangelo's models, and a figure of Mary Magdalene was added on the left by another artist, Tiberio Calcagni. Looking at the statue, it's pretty obvious the comparatively lifeless Mary Magdalene was done by someone else. The hooded figure in the middle represents Nidodemus, and is thought to be a self-portrait of Michelangelo.

There were two amazing choir lofts on display which were once in the Duomo.


Some weathered decorations that originally graced the campanile were also on view.




And a few other pieces:




From the Duomo Museum, we struck out northeastward along the Via dei Servi to keep our appointment with David, at the Galleria dell'Accademia.