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The Crypt Nobody Knew About Until 2004, and Michelangelo's Hiding Place

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Florence
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A Florence tour that stays on one subject: the Medici, and what the most consequential patrons of the Renaissance did with their money.

The route is built around them. The Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the Palazzo Vecchio and the Medici Chapels, which between them cover the family's rise and the length of their rule over the city.

Entry to the Medici Chapels and Michelangelo's New Sacristy is pre-booked, so the queue is skipped and the guide has time for the details that are easy to miss, including the crypt that lay under a stone slab behind the main altar until researchers lifted it in 2004.

The guide works on Medici history and Renaissance art, which is what makes the connection between politics, religion and painting legible rather than asserted.

It suits people who want to understand how power and architecture built the identity of this city.

What's included

  • Exterior visit of Basilica di San Lorenzo
  • Intimate group setting
  • 2-hour walking tour at a relaxed pace
  • Professional and local Walks In Europe tour guides
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  • Pre-booked tickets to the Medici Chapels and the New Sacristy

Itinerary

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  1. Q7G3+259, Firenze

    We meet in Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, by the entrance to the Medici Chapels. The guide holds a sign saying Walks in Europe.

  2. Cappelle Medicee

    Skip-the-line access to the Medici Chapels. The marble figures Michelangelo carved, and the mosaic work around them. The Chapel of the Princes is faced in marble and semi-precious stone. Michelangelo's Secret Room, where he hid for several weeks in 1530, is covered here, though seen only from outside. The family crypt is part of the visit. That vaulted chamber was unknown until 2004, when researchers lifted a stone slab behind the main altar of the chapels and found it.

  3. Palazzo Medici Riccardi

    The exterior of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, with the guide on the family's history and the working relationship between art and power that runs through it. The courtyard decoration can be seen from outside.

  4. Basilica di San Lorenzo

    The founders of the family, and how quickly their bank became one of the largest in Europe. The Basilica di San Lorenzo is looked at from the square.

  5. Piazza Del Duomo

    Across the main square in front of the Duomo, and into the streets of the San Lorenzo quarter.

  6. Piazza della Signoria

    The Medici and the families they were fighting, the Strozzi and the Pazzi among them. The walk starts at the Piazza della Signoria, the political centre of Florence since the 14th century, and works through the streets and squares where those rivalries were conducted.

  7. Palazzo Vecchio

    How the medieval seat of the municipal government became a Medici palace in 1540, seen from a vantage point most visitors do not use.

  8. Conclude your tour at the Piazzale degli Uffizi

    The tour ends at the Piazzale degli Uffizi. The guide will hand over recommendations for the rest of your time in Florence before leaving you there.

  9. Q7G3+259, Firenze

Not included

  • Transportation to the meeting point
  • Entry into Michelangelo's "secret room"

Good to know

  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Large bags and backpacks are not allowed in the monument.
  • Clients must arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour.
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  • Tickets are timed and expire within 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Please be advised that it is not possible to join the tour after it has commenced.
  • Tips/gratuities (for your guide) are always appreciated.
  • Up to 12 travelers per booking.
  • Mobile or paper ticket accepted
  • Guiding available in: en.

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