Medici Chapels

Tickets & Visitor Guide to the Medici Mausoleum

⏱ 1 hour👤 All ages$

The Cappelle Medicee adjoin the Basilica of San Lorenzo — the Medici's parish church — and form the dynastic mausoleum of the family that dominated Florence for some three centuries. The visit centers on two very different but equally remarkable spaces.

The Chapel of the Princes (Cappella dei Principi) is a vast, octagonal domed chamber, begun in the early 17th century, lined floor to soaring ceiling in dark, richly colored marble and inlaid semiprecious stones (pietra dura) — an overwhelming, almost oppressive display of grand-ducal wealth, with the monumental tombs of the Medici grand dukes around its walls. The New Sacristy (Sagrestia Nuova), by contrast, is a serene, harmonious space designed by Michelangelo himself as both architect and sculptor. It holds his famous funerary monuments for two younger Medici, with the brooding allegorical nudes of Dawn and Dusk, and Night and Day, reclining on the curved sarcophagi — among the most studied and admired sculptures of the Renaissance.

Together they make a fascinating, manageable visit that pairs Medici dynastic ambition with one of Michelangelo's great sculptural achievements. It's typically less crowded than the Accademia or Uffizi. The chapels are part of the San Lorenzo complex (the basilica, with its Brunelleschi architecture and Old Sacristy, and the Laurentian Library are nearby and separately ticketed). It's a short walk from the Duomo, near the bustling San Lorenzo and Mercato Centrale market area. Allow about an hour; check current opening days, as schedules vary.