If Florence’s cathedral boasts the city’s largest dome, visiting the Medici Chapels offers the chance to admire the second-largest dome in Florence from the inside. But the Medici Chapels’ fame doesn’t end there. Let me tell you all about it in this article.
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Where are the Medici Chapels in Florence?
The Medici Chapels, or “Cappelle Medicee” in Italian, are located adjacent to the famously renowned Basilica di San Lorenzo. More than just a simple place of worship, this site was transformed into an Italian public museum in 1869 and even preserves a portion of the precious treasures of the Basilica of San Lorenzo.
The entrance is through a small door at Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6 in Florence.
Entry to the site requires a ticket.
Tickets for the Medici Chapels in Florence
There are essentially two types of tickets: one just for the Medici Chapels and another that includes access to Michelangelo’s secret room (“stanza segreta di Michelangelo”).
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Tickets for the Medici Chapels Only
Below, you’ll find the details for direct booking with the authorized reseller:
| Category | Price | Online Tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Adults | Euro 9.00 | buy here |
| Students 18-25 years | Euro 2.00 | buy here |
| 0-17 years | Free | – |
A booking fee of 3 euros is added for online reservations on the official website. Tickets purchased from the official site are non-changeable and non-refundable. For those preferring flexibility in booking, reservations can also be made through our partner, Get Your Guide.
Reserve your tickets for the Medici Chapels with Get Your Guide now
It’s worth noting that the Museum participates in the “Domenica al Museo” initiative, offering free entry on the first Sunday of each month (excluding access to Michelangelo’s secret room).
Tickets for the Medici Chapels + Michelangelo’s Secret Room
Below, you’ll find the details for direct booking with the official authorized reseller:
Guided Tour of Medici Family Secrets and Chapels
For those keen on delving deeper into the illustrious history of the Medici family, booking a specialized tour can be a rewarding experience. These tours often include a guided visit to the Medici Chapels, where knowledgeable guides provide detailed insights into the family’s legacy, their contributions to art and culture, and the architectural significance of the chapels themselves. Such tours not only enhance your understanding of the Medici’s pivotal role in Florentine history but also offer a more enriched and personalized experience of these magnificent monuments. Reservations are recommended to ensure availability and to make the most of your visit.
Book a guided tour of Medici Family Secrets and Chapels
Opening Hours of the Medici Chapels
The Medici Chapels are closed on Tuesdays and December 25.
The official opening hours are:
From 08:15 am to 6:50 pm on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Unveiling the Medici: Florence’s Most Powerful Family
First and foremost, understanding who the Medici were is essential: they were an illustrious and influential Tuscan family that held a pivotal role in the history of Italy and Europe from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
Originating from modest beginnings in Mugello, the family rose to prominence thanks to a banker, Giovanni di Bicci, who amassed a great fortune through the bank he founded, the Medici Bank.
Over time, the family acquired wealth and prestige, becoming financiers to the most influential political entities in Europe, even serving as the bankers to the Pope and funding endeavors such as Francesco Sforza’s conquest of the Duchy of Milan and Edward IV of England’s victory in the Wars of the Roses.
With Giovanni’s son, Cosimo the Elder, the family gained total control of the Republic of Florence. During Cosimo’s era, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the family’s first imposing residence, was built, which today is a public museum that you can visit.
Did you know that artists like Donatello, Michelangelo, Paolo Uccello, and Botticelli worked at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi? The Medici loved beauty and invested in culture, aiming to make Florence the best place to live in their time and attract visitors from all over the world to see the unique beauties here.
In fact, the last Medici heiress, who had no children or successors, made a prenuptial agreement stating that upon her death, all her inheritance should be donated to the city of Florence.
But why are we mentioning all this? Because understanding the Medici family’s significance is key to appreciating the Medici Chapels fully.
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What You Will See at the Medici Chapels
The museum is divided into three parts: the Sagrestia Nuova, the Cappella dei Principi, and the Crypt.
One of the most striking features for us was the beauty of the dome on the ceiling, and we couldn’t resist taking a family photo “for posterity”:
Below, I’ll detail what you can find in each location.
Sagrestia Nuova
The Sagrestia Nuova is famous for being designed and planned by Michelangelo.
For example, you can see the two marble candelabra designed by Michelangelo and sculpted by Silvio Cosini (1495 – 1549) during his collaboration on the works in 1524 – 1525.
Cappella dei Principi
The Cappella dei Principi is an imposing mausoleum, conceived by Cosimo I de’ Medici, the husband of Eleonora de Toledo. We’ve mentioned them before when we discussed the noble couple’s desire to move from Palazzo Vecchio to a larger residence with a garden, hence purchasing the Palazzo Pitti.
The Cappella dei Principi was not realized by Cosimo I but by his successor, Ferdinando I, who appointed the architect Matteo Nigetti to oversee construction in 1604, following a design by Don Giovanni de’ Medici, the Grand Duke’s brother. Bernardo Buontalenti also made some modifications to the design.
Here, you can admire the interior of Florence’s second-largest dome, measuring 28 meters in width and 59 meters in height (approximately 92 feet in width and 194 feet in height), with an octagonal shape and golden frames. The frescoes were completed by Pietro Benvenuti between 1828 and 1837.
Crypt
In the crypt, you can see where the Medici grand dukes and their family members were buried. It also houses the crypt of the Lorraine family and a funerary monument in honor of Cosimo the Elder, called “Pater Patriae”.
The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty succeeded the Medici on the grand ducal throne in 1737, after the death of Gian Gastone.
They ruled until 1801 and, after 1814 to 1859, when Leopold II (1797-1870) departed, leaving a provisional government in Tuscany, which was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Leopold’s heirs fulfilled his wish in 1873 to create a family sepulcher next to the Medici tomb, designed by the architect Emilio De Fabris (1807-1883). It was built underground, allowing continuity with the funerary monument that Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488) realized in 1465-67 for Cosimo the Elder de’ Medici, Pater Patriae (1389-1464), buried in the imposing pillar at the room’s center.
Ferdinando III (1789-1824) is the only grand duke, of the five who succeeded to the throne, buried in the crypt, along with twelve family members. Besides their tombs, eight other commemorative inscriptions contribute to the history of the princes from this branch of the dynasty that reigned in Tuscany.
The crypt is part of the new museum exit route since 2023, designed by Studio Zermani and associates, winners of a competition held in 2018.
Regarding Michelangelo’s Secret Room… that topic will be saved for a future article or update…
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