The Museo delle Cappelle Medicee consists of various rooms, all of inestimable value. These include the New Sacristy by Michelangelo, and the sumptuous Chapel of the Princes, pantheon of the Medici Grand Dukes, and the Crypt.
The Museum is accessed through a new entrance, inaugurated in 2023, which leads to the Crypt, where some of the tombs of the Medici sovereigns and their families are located, and where the Treasure of San Lorenzo is on display.
Starting in 1604, thanks to Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici the construction of the imposing Chapel of the Princes begun; it was destined to house, in the octagonal room covered with a triumph of inlays of precious and semi-precious stones, the sarcophagi of the grand dukes. This type of decoration (the so-called Commesso di pietre Dure) constitutes one of the most important craft traditions in Florence. Work continued for over two centuries.
The New Sacristy represents the last Florentine Michelangelo's masterpiece, who worked on it from 1521 to 1533, before his final departure for Rome. The great artist was responsible for the overall design of this space, a synthesis of sculpture and architecture. At the foot of the funeral monuments, of Lorenzo Duke of Urbino and Giuliano Duke of Nemours, are the famous allegorical figures of Day and Night, Dusk and Dawn. Unfinished, however, are the tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, surmounted by a splendid Madonna and Child, also by Michelangelo.
Below this last room is Michelangelo's Secret Room, where the artist probably took refuge during the Republican era, leaving some drawings on the walls. This space, not included in the canonical museum tour, can only be visited by appointment.
Museo delle Cappelle Medicee
Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
The sidewalk is connected to the street level. The entire Museum is now accessible thanks to an elevator connecting the ground floor (Crypt) to the first floor (Chapel of the Princes and New Sacristy by Michelangelo).
The New Sacristy is accessible by a mobile ramp to be activated by the staff.
