Museo delle Cappelle Medicee

The museum

The Medici Chapels, located inside the basilica of San Lorenzo, are part of the Bargello Museum complex.

The rooms that are now part of them were built between the 16th and 17th centuries, extending the structure of Brunelleschi’s basilica to house the remains of members of the Medici family.

The chapels are divided into four parts: the New Sacristy, the Chapel of the Princes, the Crypt and the Lorenese Crypt. The two main parts of the museum itinerary are extensions of the apse of the basilica: the New Sacristy was designed and sculpturally furnished by Michelangelo Buonarroti starting in 1519 and contains the splendid tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo de’ Medici. The Chapel of Princes, below, is a monumental mausoleum designed by Matteo Nigetti in the first half of the 17th century and is where the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and their families are buried. The two crypts house the remains of other members of the Grand Ducal family, including those of the Lorraine family.

The artworks

• Tomb of Giuliano de’ Medici, Night, 1525-1530 (?), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
• Tomb of Giuliano de’Medici, duke of Nemours, 1525-1530 (?), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
• Ferdinando I de’ Medici, 17th century, Grand-ducal workshops, Pietro (1577-1640) and Ferdinando Tacca (1619-1686)
• The Chapel of Princes (detail- Cosimo II’s tomb), 17th century, Grand-ducal workshops and Pietro Tacca
• Dome of The Chapel of Princess, depicting stories from the Old and New Testament, 1828-1837, Pietro Benvenuti (1769-1844)

The artists

• Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
• Pietro Tacca (1577-1640)
• Ferdinando Tacca (1619-1686)
• Pietro Benvenuti (1769-1844)

Photo: External view of the Medici Chapels