Florence and the Medici, an unbreakable bond. Patronage, banking, power struggles, magnificent collections, the rise and fall of a dynasty.
The Medici lived in Florence for centuries and were key figures on the city’s stage for a long time. Traces of their influence can be found in numerous monuments, museums, churches, and palaces. Their splendid art collections are housed in various municipal, state, and city museums.
For this reason, a guided tour focusing on the Medici can range from a half-day visit, concentrating on the Medici quarter of San Lorenzo—with the Medici Chapels, the Church of San Lorenzo, and the Medici Palace—to a full-day tour or even multiple days. These extended tours allow for a deeper exploration, including visits to Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti. To delve further into Medici art collecting, visits to the Bargello Museum, the Uffizi Gallery, the Archaeological Museum, and the Galileo Museum of the History of Science are highly recommended.
For a tailored itinerary, feel free to contact me at gianna.giovannetti@alice.it. Based on your preferences and needs, I will prepare a personalized tour program.
Medici Palace
The Medici arrived in Florence from the Mugello region and initially lived in the area of what is now Piazza della Repubblica. Their earliest residence has not survived, as it was demolished in the 19th century during the urban renovations led by Poggi, when Florence briefly served as Italy’s capital. Later, the Medici resided in San Lorenzo, first in a house purchased by Giovanni di Bicci and then in the palace designed by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder, the family’s first grand residence.
residence: austere and fortress-like on the outside, clad in rusticated stone, yet elegant inside, with a serene stone courtyard and spacious rooms on the noble floor. A guided tour begins in the courtyard, featuring Medici coats of arms, graffiti, marble medallions inspired by the family’s gem collection, and Bandinelli’s statue of Orpheus. The tour continues upstairs to the jewel of the palace: the chapel adorned by Benozzo Gozzoli’s frescoes of the Magi’s procession. The chapel is a true treasure, largely intact except for some minor later alterations. Among the frescoes, the Medici family members can be identified, including Cosimo the Elder and Piero the Gouty. The tour concludes in the gallery painted by Luca Giordano, added during the Baroque renovations by the Riccardi family, who purchased and expanded the palace in the 17th century.
The San Lorenzo Complex: Devotion and Self-Glorification of a Ruling Dynasty
Just steps from the palace is the Church of San Lorenzo, the Medici parish church and a family possession, for which they commissioned the most renowned artists of their time. Giovanni di Bicci, founder of the Medici Bank and father of Cosimo the Elder, had the church rebuilt in monumental style by Brunelleschi. Work continued under Cosimo and later in the 16th century, when Cardinal Giovanni, later Pope Leo X, commissioned Michelangelo for further modifications.
A guided visit to San Lorenzo unveils Renaissance masterpieces such as Donatello’s recently restored pulpits, Brunelleschi’s architecture, Verrocchio’s tomb of Piero the Gouty, and Lippi’s Martelli Annunciation. The crypt reveals the tomb of Cosimo the Elder, once Florence’s wealthiest banker and merchant.
The Medici Chapels: A Dynastic Mausoleum
The Medici Chapels can be accessed from the basilica’s rear, starting in the crypt of the Chapel of the Princes. This burial site for the grand dukes and their families is a vaulted space with imposing pillars and lateral niches. A staircase leads to the upper level, where the splendor of Baroque decoration in marble and pietra dura is dazzling. It was Ferdinand I who founded the Grand Ducal workshops to decorate the family tombs.
Next is the New Sacristy, where Michelangelo worked as an architect and sculptor for years. Though he left the project unfinished when he departed for Rome in 1534, the sacristy contains the tomb of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, victim of the Pazzi Conspiracy. Their sarcophagus is adorned by a melancholic Madonna and Child flanked by the Medici patron saints. Nearby are the funerary monuments of Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, and Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, featuring Michelangelo’s iconic statues: Night and Day on one side, Dawn and Dusk on the other, eternalizing the two Medici dukes.
The Laurentian Complex and the Medicean-Laurentian Library Part of the San Lorenzo architectural ensemble, the Medicean-Laurentian Library was commissioned by Pope Clement VII, the second Medici pope, to house the family’s extensive manuscript and rare book collection, accumulated since the time of Cosimo the Elder. Designed by Michelangelo, the library stands as a testament to the Medici’s cultural patronage and intellectual legacy.