Basilica of San Lorenzo
Florence, Italy
Medici Chapels, Florence
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Photo: Justinawind, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia CommonsFit in nearby today
The essentials in 10 seconds
- Entry
- Paid, separate entrance from the basilica
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Opening hours
- By day; closed some days
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Time on site
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A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes. - 1 h
- With kids
- Fine with kids
- Highlights
- New Sacristy, Chapel of the Princes
- Museum
- Part of the Bargello Museums
- Time needed
- 45 minutes to an hour
- Location
- Behind San Lorenzo, 5 minutes from the Duomo
Key facts
1520–1534Michelangelo worked on the New Sacristy
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English Wikipedia4 figuresDawn, Dusk, Day and Night
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English Wikipedia1604work began on the Chapel of the Princes
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English WikipediaPietre durewalls inlaid with hard and semi-precious stones
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English WikipediaBargello Museumsnow run the chapels
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English WikipediaWhat the Medici Chapels are
The Medici Chapels are part of the Basilica of San Lorenzo complex, the Medici family's parish church. Behind the basilica altar the family built two grand chapels, which today form a separate museum with its own entrance at the back of the building.
The museum has three parts. You enter through a low vaulted crypt displaying church treasures. From there stairs lead up to the huge octagonal Chapel of the Princes under the dome, and a corridor takes you to the New Sacristy, the heart of the museum, created by Michelangelo.
The dome over the Chapel of the Princes is the second largest in the city after the cathedral's. You'll spot it from every viewpoint, and from the street it's easy to recognise by its tall windowed drum rising above the San Lorenzo rooftops.
Michelangelo's New Sacristy
In 1520 Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, the future Pope Clement VII, asked Michelangelo to build and decorate a new chapel as a partner to Brunelleschi's Old Sacristy on the other side of the basilica. He worked on it until 1534, designing the architecture as well as the sculpture, and carved most of the figures himself.
Against the walls stand two monuments to Medici dukes, Lorenzo and Giuliano. Above each sits a statue of the duke in classical armour; below, reclining on curved marble bases, lie two allegorical figures apiece: Dawn and Dusk, Day and Night. They are among Michelangelo's best-known works: powerful, weary, unresolved bodies, some left without their final polish.
Night, with an owl and a mask at her feet, is especially famous; contemporaries wrote poems about her, and Michelangelo answered one with a quatrain of his own. Facing the altar is the Medici Madonna, a Virgin and Child also by Michelangelo, flanked by the family's patron saints carved by his pupils.
What to see in the Medici Chapels
- Night and Day — the figures on Giuliano's monument.
- Dawn and Dusk — the figures on Lorenzo's monument.
- The Medici Madonna — Michelangelo's Virgin and Child.
- New Sacristy architecture — grey stone against white walls.
- Chapel of the Princes — coloured-stone walls under the dome.
- Tuscan city crests — inlaid in semi-precious stones.
The Chapel of the Princes
The Chapel of the Princes is a vast octagonal hall begun in 1604 for the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. It was meant to be the family's most magnificent room, and the decoration went on for nearly two centuries.
The walls are covered in pietre dure, Florentine inlay of hard and semi-precious stones: marble, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. Around the base run the crests of sixteen Tuscan towns, set in coloured stone so finely they could pass for paintings. The dukes founded a special workshop for the job, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, which still operates in Florence.
Above all this stone splendour rises a tall dome painted in the 19th century. After Michelangelo's austere, light-filled sacristy, the Chapel of the Princes overwhelms in a different way, with richness, colour and shine. Comparing the two rooms is one of the museum's great pleasures.
How to get to the Medici Chapels
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Where are you starting from?
We’ll draw it on the map on foot and by taxi; metro and buses open in your maps app. Your location isn’t stored.
On foot
- Basilica of San Lorenzo is about 2 min away on foot.
- Laurentian Library is about 3 min away on foot.
- Palazzo Medici Riccardi is about 4 min away on foot.
More tips
- The entrance is on Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, behind San Lorenzo.
- From Florence Cathedral, 5 minutes on foot.
- From Santa Maria Novella station, 5 minutes.
- From the Accademia Gallery, 8 minutes.
Tickets and tips
Buy tickets on site or on the official Bargello Museums website. Queues are usually shorter than at the Uffizi or the Accademia, but in high season it's worth arriving at opening time. The museum closes on certain weekdays, so check the timetable before you go.
Don't rush the New Sacristy: sit by the wall and watch how light from the dome windows falls on the figures. Next door is the Laurentian Library, another Michelangelo work for the Medici, and Palazzo Medici Riccardi, where the family lived. Together they make a half-day walk around the quarter.
Before you go
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Florence's museums: compare and choose
Museums and galleries in Florence rated by YesGo. Click a column header to sort.
| Palazzo Vecchio | 52 | 1 h 30 min | Courtyard free, museum paid | 12 min walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uffizi Gallery | 51 | 3 h | Paid | 14 min walk |
| Santa Croce | 50 | 1 h | Paid | 19 min walk |
| Palazzo Pitti | 48 | 2 h | Paid | 20 min walk |
| Santa Maria Novella | 48 | 1 h | Paid | 5 min walk |
| Vasari Corridor | 45 | 1 h | Paid, timed entry | 13 min walk |
| Palazzo Medici Riccardi | 45 | 1 h | Paid | 4 min walk |
| Orsanmichele | 45 | 30 min | Free | 9 min walk |
| Laurentian Library | 44 | 30 min | Paid | 3 min walk |
| Medici Chapelsyou are here | 43 | 1 h | Paid | — |
| Galleria dell'Accademia | 43 | 1 h 15 min | Paid | 9 min walk |
| Brancacci Chapel | 41 | 30 min | Paid, timed entry | 18 min walk |
| Bargello | 40 | 1 h 15 min | Paid | 11 min walk |
| Palazzo Strozzi | 38 | 1 h 15 min | Courtyard free, exhibitions paid | 8 min walk |
| Museo Galileo | 37 | 1 h 15 min | Paid | 15 min walk |
Michelangelo for the Medici
The Medici Chapels, the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Laurentian Library, then the Accademia and David.
- Medici Chapelsyou are here1 h · Paid
- 3 min walk from the previous stopBasilica of San Lorenzo45 min · Paid
- 3 min walk from the previous stopLaurentian Library30 min · Paid
- 7 min walk from the previous stopGalleria dell'Accademia1 h 15 min · Paid
4 places · about 3 h 43 min with walks · 13 min on foot in total
Nearby and on the way
Laurentian Library
Florence, Italy
Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Florence, Italy
Florence Baptistery
Florence, Italy
How to do it right
- The entrance isn't on the basilica square.
- Separate ticket from San Lorenzo.
- The New Sacristy is the highlight.
- The Laurentian Library is next door.
Questions
What is there to see in the Medici Chapels?
Michelangelo's New Sacristy with Dawn, Dusk, Day, Night and the Medici Madonna, and the Chapel of the Princes with its coloured-stone inlay.
Where is the entrance to the Medici Chapels?
On Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini behind San Lorenzo, separate from the basilica entrance.
Are the Medici Chapels included in the San Lorenzo ticket?
No, they're a separate museum, part of the Bargello Museums, with their own ticket.
How much are Medici Chapels tickets?
Entry is paid; check prices on the official Bargello Museums website.
How long do you need at the Medici Chapels?
45 minutes to an hour.
Have you been? Was it worth your time?
1 — no, 5 — absolutely
Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.
Sources and fact-check
- English Wikipedia: Medici Chapels and New Sacristy
- Official Bargello Museums site, bargellomusei.it
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