Florence and the Medici Tours / CHURCH of SAN LORENZO AND MEDICI CHAPELS

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Guided Tour of Basilica of San Lorenzo and Brunelleschi's architecture

The patronage of the Medici has been devoted to the complex of San Lorenzo for over three centuries. The Basilica of San Lorenzo offers one of the most shining examples of Brunelleschi's architecture, which, starting from the Gothic tradition, laid the foundations of the Florentine Renaissance.

Inside the naves we will admire masterpieces such as the Marriage of the Virgin by Rosso Fiorentino and the two famous Pulpits by Donatello, until reaching the Old Sacristy. The Old Sacristy by Brunelleschi, at the head of the left transept of the church, is the only work of the artist left intact until the present day. Prototype of a central-plan architecture inspired by antiquity, it was the model for subsequent similar achievements.

The Medici Chapels Museum

A real 'Pantheon' intended to self-celebration of the Medici dynasty, consists of three main rooms. The Crypt of the church, designed by Bernardo Buontalenti, houses the remains of the Medici and Lorraine grand dukes. From here we will pass to the Chapel of the Princes, a spectacular octagonal room entirely covered with semi-precious stones. On the walls we will admire the monumental cenotaphs of the grand dukes and the precious polychrome marbles that cover the room from the floor to the ceiling. From a narrow passage we will finally reach the New Sacristy, where the solemn Michelangelo's architecture frames the Medici tombs, poignant masterpieces of the artist.