Frederick Stibbert had inherited his wealth from his grandfather, who was the Governor of Bengal under the rule of the East India Company. Stibbert was a worldly man and grew up blending a fascination with the Far East and a love for his home town of Florence. The museum houses arms and armor from Europe, Japan, and the Middle East. Stibbert's home, which houses the collection, was decorated in classic Florentine opulence. Stibbert had so much f-you money that the walls of many rooms were "wallpapered" with thick painted leather panels that had been hand-sewn together. Many other rooms and ceilings were adorned with traditional frescos.
Stibbert was clearly a womanizing mama's boy. Isn't it odd how womanizers usually hold their mother in high regard? I had inquired about whether Stibbert had been married because I was curious as to why he left his fortune (home and contents) to the city of Florence. The curator of the museum chuckled to herself and answered that "Mr. Stibbert liked to collect women too. Never married and no children." But, the house had many ornately decorated rooms that were for use by his mother, who lived with him. She was also prominently featured in many works of art throughout the house, as were Stibberts two sisters.
But, back to the armor. The first thing I noticed was how petite the men who wore the suits of armor must have been - in girth and in stature. They were not nearly as big as they look in all of those Scooby Doo episodes. I guess I shouldn't assume that full grown men were wearing them, as boys as young as seven were put into the military during that time. The museum had two full suits of armor for "kids." Scarlett was stunned that boys who would have been in her school class would have been in the military. Speaking of little men, the museum even housed the robe and pants that Napoleon wore for his coronation as King of Italy. That dude was small! I think the favorite room of Bella and me was the one in which you could try on pieces of armor. The helmet was wild. It was so incredibly heavy, in and of itself, I can't imagine how heavy a full suit would have been (and how hot it would have been). The other surprising thing about the helmet was how well you could hear with it on - maybe I need to get myself one of those in lieu of a hearing aid.
The other really interesting part of the museum was that it houses suits of armor for horses as well. The horses used in battle must have been incredibly strong to have carried the weight of the rider in a suit of armor and the additional weight of its own armor. It was fascinating to see the different degrees to which people covered (or didn't cover) their horses in armor. Scarlett and I agreed that our horses would have the most extensive coverage, which would have to include cage-like armor over the eyes that made the horses look like they had fly eyes.
While the Stibbert Museum isn't a traditional Florentine museum with marble sculptures and religious paintings on the walls, it was a site to be seen. It was a great way to cap off our adventures in Italy.
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