Medici Chapels

The Medici Chapels are the family mausoleum attached to the back of the basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici parish church. They have their own entrance and ticket, separate from the church, and combine two very different spaces: a monumental Baroque burial chapel and one of Michelangelo's most important works of architecture and sculpture.

The first is the Cappella dei Principi, the Chapel of the Princes, an octagonal hall under a 59-metre dome, planned under Ferdinando I in the early 17th century to house the grand dukes. Its walls are covered in coloured marble and semi-precious stones, and the grand ducal workshop of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure was set up to make this inlay. The scale and expense are overwhelming, though the sarcophagi are empty: the remains lie in the crypt below, which you pass through on the way in.

A corridor leads to the New Sacristy (Sagrestia Nuova), designed by Michelangelo from 1519 and his first architectural project. Its grey stone and white walls are deliberately restrained, and it holds the tombs of two lesser Medici dukes, Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours. Below their seated figures recline Michelangelo's allegories of Night and Day and of Dawn and Dusk, and on the entrance wall sits his Medici Madonna. Michelangelo left for Rome in 1534 with the work unfinished. In 1976 a small room beneath the sacristy was found with drawings on its walls attributed to him; it can be seen only on special timed visits booked in advance.

A visit takes about an hour. The chapels are part of the Musei del Bargello, so check the official site for current days and times. The route involves steps, especially in the crypt area. It suits anyone interested in Michelangelo and pairs well with the Accademia; children may find the Chapel of the Princes more striking than the sculpture.

The entrance is on Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, behind San Lorenzo and next to the street market stalls. The Mercato Centrale is two minutes' walk north, the Duomo about five minutes east, and Santa Maria Novella station about ten minutes west.