Medici Walking Tour -Small Group

Palazzo Medici Riccardi was built for Cosimo il Vecchio by Michelozzo after 1444 as his town mansion on via Larga today via Cavour . Apart from the fine exterior, the main courtyard with classical relief in the tondi survives from this time , as well as Michelozzo's lovely little chapel on the first floor and the frescoes Cosimo commissioned for it from Benozzo Gozzoli.

The church of was intimately connected with the Medici after they commissioned Brunelleschi to rebuild it in 1425 with their own family funds . It is the burial place of all the principal members of the family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III .

The Cappella dei Principi is the opulent mausoleum of the Medici grand dukes .It has been undergoing restoration since 1999. Ferdinando I decided to create the chapel , wich he intended to have decorated with plasters of costly jasper . A back passage connects the Cappella dei Principi to the New sacristy , was build to balance Brunelleschi's old Sacristy by Michelangelo . Inside you can see the tombs of the Medici family decorated with the statues carved by Michelangelo .

The Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore was built by Brunelleschi, the architect who worked for the Medici family.

The impressive 14th-century Palazzo Vecchio is still preeminent with its crenellated tower. The square is also shared with the Loggia della Signoria, the Uffizi Gallery, the Palace of the Tribunale della Mercanzia and the Palazzo Uguccioni ,with a facade attributed to Raphael, who however died thirty years before its construction. Various imposing statues ring this square including:

Copy of Michelangelo's David, the original by Michelangelo is housed in the Galleria dell'Accademia, adjacent to the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts.
Equestrian Monument of Cosimo I, honoring Cosimo I de' Medici and sculpted by Giambologna
Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati
Il Marzocco, (the Lion) with a copy of the Florentine Lily, originally made by Donatello
Judith and Holofernes, by Donatello
Hercules and Cacus, by Bandinelli
The Rape of the Sabine Women, in the Loggia dei Lanzi by Giambologna
Perseus with the Head of Medusa, in the Loggia dei Lanzi .etc

One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best known in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance.

The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry and luxurious possessions.