bargello

Bargello (bärjĕl`lō), 13th-century palace in Florence, Italy, which houses the national museum. Once the residence of the highest city official, but later used as a prison and as the office of the chief of police (bargello), it was restored in 1859 to receive the art treasures of the city. The Bargello is famous for its courtyard and its Renaissance sculptures, including works by Michelangelo, Verrocchio, Donatello, the Della Robbias, Cellini, and others.

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bargello

 or Florentine canvas work

Type of 17th-century embroidery, named for the upholstery of a set of Italian chairs at Florence's Bargello Museum. It consists of a wavy zigzag pattern of flat vertical stitches laid parallel with the canvas weave, rather than crossing the intersections diagonally as in most canvas stitches, in gradating tones of the same colour or in contrasting colours. The characteristic stitch is called Florentine, cushion, Hungarian, or flame stitch (an allusion to the flamelike gradation of colour).