Medici Chapel

The Medici Chapel is a memorial chapel, the tomb of the Medici family at the Florentine church of San Lorenzo. Her sculptures are among the most ambitious achievements of High Renaissance art in the work of Michelangelo Buonarroti. The place is among the recommended locations for tourists to visit.

The history of the Medici Chapel

The renovation of the small Florentine church was conceived by the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Leo X (aka Giovanni de' Medici), in order to confirm the power of this family. Michelangelo, already famous at that time, was invited to create the new facade. Work began in 1514, but after a few years the project was frozen due to lack of funds. By the way, the facade remains unfinished to this day.

At the same time, the name of the great architect was already so famous that the Medici decided to continue their cooperation with the master, entrusting him with the renovation of the chapel on the church grounds. The object of reconstruction was an unfinished church, whose foundation was installed a century earlier, and which all this time served as the family crypt of a rich clan. However, he had to constantly redo the original project, adapting to the changing demands of customers. So the tombs of Lorenzo and Giuliano should have been located in the center of the chapel, and not in the side part. Statues of river gods were supposed to be on the floor near the tombstones, and armor and figures of boys were supposed to be placed above them. But the Medici family rejected this option, saving only four figures near the sarcophagi.

Work on the decoration of the chapel lasted for almost 15 years, during which time the Medici themselves were forced to flee the city as a result of a spontaneous revolution (while Michelangelo was completely on the side of the rebels, dealing with all the defensive fortifications of Florence), returned, gaining even more power, and practically forced the artist to continue working. However, after some time he managed to escape to Rome, directing the whole process from afar. Several figures in the Medici Chapel were already being completed by his assistants.

Short description

The Medici Chapel is completely subordinated to the theme of death: frescoes and sculptures, sarcophagi and statues of the Day tell about it. By the way, the statues of the Day brought Michelangelo even greater fame. Morning and Evening, Day and Night convey the Medici motto "Always" and at the same time remind of the transience of existence. Of the four sculptures, the Night figure exudes the most tragedy, the Day is intentionally left unfinished, and Morning and Evening seem to slip off the pedestal.

Opposite the altar in the Medici Chapel there is another burial, above which there are three sculptures, the most famous of which is the Madonna and Child. This is the only figure in which there is no sense of tragedy. Everything else suggests thoughts of the proximity and inevitability of death. The Medici Chapel consists of three parts: the graves of some of the most famous members of the Medici clan are located below, the graves of more famous members of this family are located above, the upper part is filled with light symbolizing the resurrection of the soul.

It is difficult to visit Florence and not visit the Medici Chapel. This amazing structure is considered one of the greatest creations of Michelangelo, who became an architect and sculptor in the memorial chapel. You can visit the chapel at almost any time, and the opening hours are very convenient for tourists who live in Florence itself or who visit this city as part of excursions.