The museum is an interesting example of an 18th-century nobleman's home and of the family's tastes in collecting.
In 1738 Niccolò and Giuseppe Maria Martelli employed the architect Bernardo Ciurini to transform several houses into the present palace. The interior was decorated in the taste of the period with paintings by Vincenzo Meucci, Bernardo Minozzi and Niccolò Conestabile, with stucco ornamentation by Giovan Martino Portogalli. The fine collection of art works belonging to the family was arranged in a specially designed suite of rooms. Is the last example of an 18th-century Florentine collection, with the exception of the Corsini collection, that has been preserved intact.
The paintings include works by Piero di Cosimo, Beccafumi, Salvator Rosa, Luca Giordano and Netherlandish painting of the 17th century.