|
|
|
|
Cappelle Medicee Review
Read our Florence sights reviews. Or post your own.
Cappelle Medicee
- Address: Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, San Lorenzo, Florence
- Phone: 055/294883 reservations
-
Medici Chapels
- Category: Religious Sites
- Location: San Lorenzo to the Accademia
Fodor's Review:
This magnificent complex includes the Cappella dei Principi, the Medici chapel and mausoleum that was begun in 1605 and kept marble workers busy for several hundred years, and the Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy), designed by Michelangelo and so called to distinguish it from Brunelleschi's Sagrestia Vecchia (Old Sacristy) in San Lorenzo.
Michelangelo received the commission for the New Sacristy in 1520 from Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (1478-1534), who later became Pope Clement VII and who wanted a new burial chapel for his cousins Giuliano (1478-1534) and Lorenzo (1492-1519). The result was a tour de force of architecture and sculpture. Architecturally, Michelangelo was as original and inventive here as ever, but it is, quite properly, the powerful sculptural compositions of the sidewall tombs that dominate the room. The scheme is allegorical: on the tomb on the right are figures representing Day and Night, and on the tomb to the left are figures representing Dawn and Dusk; above them are idealized sculptures of the two men, usually interpreted to represent the active life and the contemplative life. But the allegorical meanings are secondary; what is most important is the intense presence of the sculptural figures and the force with which they hit the viewer.
- Cost: EUR 6
- Open: Daily 8:15-4:50. Closed 1st, 3rd, and 5th Mon. and 2nd and 4th Sun. of month
Get Advice From Other Travelers
Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip
- Stroller debate
1 response on 07/06/2009 at 01:04 AM - Do we need to book Uffizi tickets in advance?
30 responses; most recent on 07/06/2009 at 12:00 AM - Nice to Cinque Terra
3 responses; most recent on 07/05/2009 at 11:53 PM
- Travel DealsPowered by ShermansTravel.com
-
Upscale Venice hotel nr St. Mark's Basilica$128/nt+
Palazzo Selvadego -
Florence boutique hotel w/free brkfst$96/nt+
Expedia -
Low round-trip Rome fares via NY & Boston$692+
Major Airlines -
Low fares to romantic Venice (round-trip)$919+
Expedia - View All Travel Deals
Buy the Guidebook
-
$24.95
-
$19.95
Get the Fodor's Newsletter
For more travel ideas, tips, and deals, sign up for the Fodor's newsletter here. Read the current issue. Browse previous issues.
