Last week we went to the Capelle Medicee one afternoon after school. The spelling puzzles me, since everywhere else it's "Medici" but this may be an archaic spelling that has persisted. It's attached to the Basilica San Lorenzo, which we described in an earlier post, but has a separate entrance now, so, of course, a separate admission fee can be charged. It was worth it; it's quite spectacular. Designed by Michelangelo to be the resting place for many of the royal Medici family, no expense was spared. Four Michelangelo statues grace some of the sepulchers there. No photos were allowed, so I only got a few shots (you read right! Theresa was my lookout and everyone else seemed to feel free to take pictures as the guards looked the other way.), but they indicate the grandeur. Marble and other beautiful stone (called "pietra dura" here) covered every square inch (or centimeter) in ornate patterns.
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| The relatively unassuming exterior of the Medici Chapel. |
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| The very impressive interior. They were having a temporary exhibition of paintings done around 1600 in honor of the assassination of French king Henry IV who was in tight with the Medici's (since he married not one, but two Medici's). |
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| The stunning ceiling, with scenes from the Old and New Testaments |
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| the in-laid floor which actually got completed in the 1960s |
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| And the Pietra Dura altar panels. This photo doesn't do justice to | them. |
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As you have probably guessed by now, the Medicis' pretty much ran Firenze for many years. When the family was downsized to only one woman with no heirs, she left the family fortune and artwork to the city. I suspect anyone who has ever been here is very grateful to that woman.
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