Medici Chapels

The complex of the Medici Chapels consists of the New Sacristy (Sacrestia Nuova), the Chapel of the Princes (Cappella dei Principi), and the Crypt of the Medici family. The New Sacristy was enirely designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti as a funerary chapel for the tombs of Lorenzo de Medici (the Magnificent), his brother Giuliano, Lorenzo Duke of Urbino, and Giuliano Duke of Nemours. Inside the New Sacristy, we can admire some of Michelangelo's finest sculptures: Day and Night, Dusk and Dawn, Madonna and Child, and the Dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano de Medici. The New Sacristy is a true masterpiece of the Florentine Renaissance. The Chapel of the Princes was designed to hold the tombs of the Medici Grand Dukes. The lavish interior is covered in colorful marble inlays of semi precious stones, mother of pearl, lapis-lazuli, and coral. The huge dome is frescoed with scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The six sarcophagi of Medici Grand Dukes are still here, even if there is nobody buried there. The Crypt houses the graves of 50 members of the Medici family, including the Grand Duke Cosimo I and his wife Eleonora di Toledo.