Visit of the Medici Quarter and the Medici Chapels
On this guided tour with your AGT guide, you will discover the great personalities of the Medici family, their lives and secrets, with a focus on the lively and colorful Medici quarter. The visit takes place between Palazzo Medici — the splendid residence of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent, where the young Michelangelo was also hosted — and the Basilica of San Lorenzo, designed by Brunelleschi.
In this historic district, now enlivened by the San Lorenzo Market, the Medici carried out one of the most extraordinary urban renewal projects in the city. Here, Cosimo the Elder had the convent of San Marco built, which hosted Beato Angelico and Fra’ Girolamo Savonarola. In the San Marco Garden, Lorenzo the Magnificent founded the first art academy in Europe, where Michelangelo Buonarroti began his career.
The construction of the family palace and the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo definitively transformed the ancient green area of Cafaggio into the Medici quarter par excellence.
Museum: Medici Chapels
Walking along the right side of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, you reach Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, where the apse of the church faces. From here, you enter the National Museum of the Medici Chapels, the mausoleum of the Medici family.
The visit to the Chapels is divided into three distinct areas:
- The Crypt, located beneath street level, houses the burial slabs of the Grand Dukes and their closest family members.
- The Chapel of the Princes, lavishly adorned with multicoloured semi-precious stones, houses the mausoleums of the Medici Grand Dukes.
- The New Sacristy, accessible via a staircase, houses the tombs of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, Giuliano de’ Medici, Duke of Nemours, Lorenzo the Magnificent, and his brother Giuliano. The space was designed by Michelangelo and adorned with some of his most famous works, such as Day, Night, Dawn, and Dusk.
