Visit to the Medici Quarter and the National Museum of San Marco.
In this guided itinerary with your AGT guide, you will delve into the great personalities of the Medici family, their lives and secrets, focusing on the vibrant and colorful Medici quarter.
The guided tour takes place between Palazzo Medici — the splendid residence of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent, where the young Michelangelo was once hosted — and the Basilica of San Lorenzo, designed by Brunelleschi.
In the historic city center district, now lively and bustling thanks to the San Lorenzo Market, the Medici carried out one of the most extraordinary urban renewal projects in the city.
It was here that Cosimo the Elder had the Dominican convent of San Marco built, which later hosted Beato Angelico and Fra Girolamo Savonarola.
In the nearby Garden of San Marco, Lorenzo the Magnificent established the first art academy in Europe, where a very young Michelangelo Buonarroti began his career, already revealing his exceptional artistic talent.
The construction of the family palace and the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo would permanently transform the ancient green area of Cafaggio into the quintessential Medicean quarter.
Museo Nazionale di San Marco
Not far from the Basilica of San Lorenzo stands the Dominican Convent of San Marco, rebuilt in the new Renaissance style for the Medici by their favorite architect, Michelozzo.
Today, the convent offers visitors the opportunity for a moving encounter with one of the most important figures of early Renaissance painting: Fra Angelico.
Inside, the large ground-floor halls house his most significant altarpieces and panel paintings, while on the upper floor, in addition to the historic Library, visitors can admire the 45 friars’ cells, all frescoed by Fra Angelico and his assistants.
