The museum is part of the Basilica of San Lorenzo , an imposing early 15th-century church designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and the second largest church in Florence; the construction was financed by the House of Medici , to make the basilica their main, monumental, place of burial.
The building was expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries by adding two new chapels, the Sagrestia Nuova and the Cappella dei Principi , both conceived to accommodate the tombs of some of the most important members of the Medici family. The Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence; the Sagrestia Nuova is the dome-topped wind on the right; photo: dvdbramhall. Founded in , the Medici Chapel Museum encompasses four different spaces. Located underneath the Cappella dei Principi , the crypt is a vaulted space which accommodates the reception area and a permanent exhibition featuring the Treasure of San Lorenzo , consisting of reliquaries, liturgical objects, rock crystal, and semi-precious stone vases, silvers, and other precious applied art pieces donated by the Medici to the parish.
This space is undergoing renovation works and is currently closed to the public. The decision to build their family mausoleum in this church dates to the 14th century Giovanni di Bicci and his wife Piccarda were buried in the Old Sacristy, on a project designed by Brunelleschi.
The project of building a proper family mausoleum was conceived in , when Michelangelo began work on the New Sacristy upon the request of Cardinal Giulio de Medici, the future Pope Clemens VII, who expressed a desire to erect the mausoleum for some members of his family: Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano; Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino; and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours.
After completing the architectural works in , Michelangelo worked until on the sculptures and the sarcophagi that were to be featured on the chapel walls. The only ones actually completed were the statues of Lorenzo, the Duke of Urbino; Giuliano, the Duke of Nemours; the four statues of the allegories of Day and Night, and Dawn and Dusk; and the group representing the Madonna and Child; they are flanked by statues of Saints Cosma and Damian protectors of the Medici , executed respectively by Montorsoli and Baccio da Montelupo, both of whom were pupils of Michelangelo.
Numerous drawings by Michelangelo were found in a small space beneath the apse, and may be related to the statues and architecture of the Sacristy. The Chapel of the Princes This Chapel is yet another grand and striking mausoleum erected between and by the architect Matteo Nigetti following the designs of Giovanni de Medici, who practised architecture in a semi-professional manner.
The Mausoleum, with its large dome and lavish interior ornamented with marble, was conceived to celebrate the power of the Medici dynasty which had successfully ruled Florence for several centuries. The octagonal room designed to contain the bodies of the Grand Dukes is in fact almost entirely covered with semi-precious stones and different-coloured marbles.
The sarcophagi of the Grand Dukes are contained in niches and complemented by bronze statues. The inlay of the semi-precious stones, partially executed by highly skilled workers from the laboratories of the Opificio delle Pietre dure see the related section, below took several centuries to complete due to the difficulty of obtaining such rare materials that were available only at very high cost.
The interior of the dome was planned originally to be entirely covered with lapis lazuli, but was left incomplete at the end of the Medici period; the frescoes we see today were painted by Pietro Benvenuti in and feature scenes of the Old and New Testaments; these frescoes were commissioned by the then-reigning Lorraine family.
Of all the religious buildings in Florence, none is documented earlier than San Lorenzo. It was consecrated in by St. It was rebuilt in the romanesque period, and re-consecrated in The chapel's Renaissance structure, probably designed by Michelozzo, has remained virtually unchanged over the years, but its furnishings have been altered on many occasions, including, since , with works of art removed from churches and convents suppressed in the Napoleonic era.
The chapel's present aspect is the result of a project developed in to keep works difficult to move such as Bronzino's Descent of Christ into Limbo or Francesco Salviati's Deposition from the Cross safe from the threat of flood damage.
When Galileo Galilei died in , he was buried in the space to the left of the chancel. The New Sacristy is the great evidence of the genius of Michelangelo, unites a dynamic architecture and a remarkable sculpture. The square floor covered by a half dome, was clearly inspired by the Old Sacristy designed by Brunelleschi. The absolute purity of the statues in white marble and the geometric decoration in gray stone interrupt and evidence the wall contrasting with the explosion of color of the Chapel of the Prince, decorated with the mosaic technique of semi-precious stones.
Did you know that Michelangelo made for the Chapel of the Medici a Madonna with the Child Madonna Medici where we can appreciate the religious inclinations of the artist, according to which, when earthly glories pass only spirituality and religion remain to alleviate the restlessness of the men. To the sides of the Virgin are present the two saints protectors of the Medici family, Cosimo to the right fulfilled by Montorsoli in and Damian to left fulfilled by Raffaello da Montelupo in The answer to the question, why visit the Medici Chapels, is simple, because through this visit we can know more clearly the history of a city, a family and an artist.
In the Medici Chapels, located behind the basilica of San Lorenzo, we can see the majesty of the work of Michelangelo.
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