Firenze Com’Era – Florence How it Was

There is a lesser known museum called the Museo Storico Topografico “Firenze Com’Era” which translates to the Historical Topographical Museum “Florence As it Was”. If you have been in Florence for a while or you are really interested in what Florence was like before what we see today this is the museum for you. The museum is located at Via dell’Oriuolo 24 – there is a courtyard with large trees that marks the entry point.

The museum has a couple of Etruscan items, but Florence wasn’t really an Etruscan settlement, nearby Fiesole was. The museum really starts with the original Roman town founded in c. 59. There is a nice scaled-down version of the first Roman settlement that really gives a sense of how it looked. The bulk of the museum is pictures of what Florence looked like during the ages. We found an old watercolor(?) of “our street” and the famous arches of Via del Canneto taken toward the end of the 19th century (a guess). Included is a recent photo. The view is looking west on Via Canneto.

Around town (in major bookstores and book stalls) you’ll find books similarly titled Firenze Com’Era. Each covers a different time period. For example Firenze, Com’Era – Dal Dopoguerra agli anni Settanta (Florence as it Was from After the War to the 1970s) or Com’Era – Firenze 100 Anni Fa (How it Was – Florence 100 Years Ago). Obviously the title is a common one, but look before you buy to make sure you are getting the time period you are interested in.