The Museum, located in the former convent of the Devout Oblate Sisters, was inaugurated in 1908 but opened to the public only in 1956. The exhibition reconstructs, through numerous paintings, drawings and prints, the major urban changes that took placed in Florence from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Among its many interesting displays, the most important are: the excellent nineteenth-century reproduction of the famous Carta della catena from 1470 (the original is now in the Friedrich Museum in Berlin); the Veduta topografica di Firenze [Topographic Veduta of Florence] by Stefano Bonsignori dating from 1584, the first to be drawn up according to scientific principles; the twelve lunettes in oil of the Medicean Villas by Justens Utens, from 1599; the eighteenth-century engravings by the same artist; various paintings of Florence and its surroundings, as well as drawings and projects for urban planning in Florence by the architect Giuseppe Poggi. Exceptionally interesting is the section on the evolution of the Florentine area starting from its first settlement in Roman times. The museum, which also possesses a topographical archive containing various cartographic materials, periodically organises interesting thematic exhibitions. The arrangement of the museum is temporary, pending the inauguration of the new Museum of the City in Palazzo Vecchio.