Medici Chapels — New Sacristy (Sagrestia Nuova)
The Medici Chapels are two burial chapels built as extensions to the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence between the 16th and 17th centuries to celebrate and inter the ruling Medici family, Grand Dukes of Tuscany. The older and artistically more celebrated of the two is the Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy), designed by Michelangelo between 1521 and 1534, which houses his four monumental allegorical figures — Dawn, Dusk, Day, and Night — resting on the tomb chests of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Giuliano de’ Medici, Duke of Nemours. Together with the larger Cappella dei Principi, the complex forms one of the most significant dynastic monuments of the Italian Renaissance.
At a glance
- Type
- State museum (funerary chapels)
- Period
- Sagrestia Nuova 1521-1534 (Michelangelo); Cappella dei Principi begun 1604
- Style
- High Renaissance / Mannerist (Sagrestia Nuova); Late Renaissance / Baroque (Cappella dei Principi)
- Location
- Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6, 50123 Florence FI, Italy
- Coordinates
- 43.7745° N, 11.2540° E
Overview
The Medici Chapels are administered as a state museum by the Polo Museale della Toscana and form part of the monastic complex of San Lorenzo, the Medici parish church in Florence. The visit encompasses the crypt beneath the Cappella dei Principi, the Cappella dei Principi itself, and the Sagrestia Nuova. The two chapels represent strikingly different artistic visions: the Cappella dei Principi is an overwhelming display of polychrome marble and semi-precious stone inlaid decoration, while the Sagrestia Nuova is a meditation in white marble and dark pietra serena conceived by Michelangelo as a unified architectural and sculptural composition.
History
Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) commissioned Michelangelo in 1519 to design a new sacristy for San Lorenzo that would serve as a funerary chapel for recently deceased family members. Work proceeded intermittently until 1534, when Michelangelo left Florence permanently for Rome; the chapel was never fully completed to his design. The Cappella dei Principi was conceived in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari and Bernardo Buontalenti and begun in 1604 under Grand Duke Ferdinando I; its decoration in pierre dure (hard stone inlay) continued well into the 20th century. Both chapels were opened to the public as a museum in the 19th century after the extinction of the Medici dynasty in 1737.
What you see
In the Sagrestia Nuova, Michelangelo’s four reclining allegorical figures command attention from the wall tombs facing each other across the chapel: Night and Day flank the idealised seated portrait of Giuliano, while Dawn and Dusk flank that of Lorenzo — the latter famous for its pensive, melancholic pose, sometimes called il Pensieroso. Michelangelo’s architectural design, using dark grey pietra serena pilasters and cornices against white plaster walls, creates a solemn, abstract setting unlike any other Renaissance interior. The Cappella dei Principi is an explosion of coloured marbles, lapislazzuli, coral, and mother-of-pearl assembled over centuries in the pierre dure technique, covering the walls and floor in geometric and heraldic designs.
Cultural significance
The Sagrestia Nuova is among Michelangelo’s most influential architectural works, demonstrating for the first time how a single artist could conceive a chapel as a unified synthesis of architecture, sculpture, and spatial planning. His four allegorical figures are among the most studied sculptures in Western art, inspiring centuries of interpretation about their symbolic meaning. The Medici Chapels together constitute one of the most revealing monuments to early modern European dynastic ambition, combining spiritual aspiration with political self-presentation at the highest level of artistic patronage.
Practical information
- Address
- Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6, 50123 Florence FI
- Opening hours
- Tuesday-Saturday (and some Sundays/Mondays); check the official Uffizi Galleries website for current hours and advance booking
- Admission
- Paid entry; check official website for current tariffs; advance booking recommended
Getting there
The Medici Chapels are entered from Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, on the north side of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, a 10-minute walk from Florence Santa Maria Novella railway station. The San Lorenzo market area is nearby; multiple ATAF bus lines stop on Via Nazionale and Via Cavour. The Piazza del Duomo is five minutes on foot to the east.
Sources & resources
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