Michelangelo’s Art works in Florence
Michelangelo’s soul is profuse throughout the city, where are conserved amazing worldwide famous art works.
Florence: Michelangelo’s masterpieces
Many artists who made the history of art with their works were
born and operated in Florence: thematic itineraries can be
dedicated to each of them. Here I propose a day dedicated to
Michelangelo. Michelangelo's works in Florence are found in
various museums but Michelangelo's soul is profuse throughout
the city.
So I invite you to spend a day looking for, finding, admiring
Michelangelo's works in Florence and walking in the same streets
where the genius strolled as a young man before moving to Rome.
From “Battle with the Centaurs” to “David”
Michelangelo's works in Florence are many, from the most famous such as David to the less famous such as the early work Battle of the Centaurs. Impossible to admire them all in one day but we can try.
Museum “Casa Buonarroti”
Michelangelo's early works are kept in Casa Buonarroti, a museum built in those houses that Michelangelo bought with the money earned in Rome and then inherited by his nephew. Many drawings and some early works are preserved in this museum.
Basilica of Santa Croce: the tomb
It is the starting point for discovering the Michelangelo universe. Casa Buonarroti is located a stone's throw from the Basilica of Santa Croce where the Renaissance master is buried, whose visit can be included in the itinerary.
National Museum Bargello
Other works by Michelangelo in Florence can be found in the
National Museum of the Bargello: in a 13th-century fortress, there
are masterpieces of Florentine Renaissance sculpture including
some of Michelangelo's works such for example the Bacchus, Brutus,
the Tondo Pitti as well as works by Cellini, Donatello,
Giambologna.
Continuing on our day dedicated to Michelangelo, we arrive in
Piazza della Signoria where we find the famous replica of
Michelangelo's David: if we really cannot visit the Accademia
Gallery where the original is located, we will be satisfied with
the copy of the early twentieth century. Also in the Palazzo della
Signoria in Florence there is a work by Michelangelo, the Genius
of Victory. In the Salone dei Cinquecento there should have been
the Battle of Cascina frescoed on the walls but something went
wrong ... I'll tell you!
Basilica of San Lorenzo and New Sacristy
There is an area where you can find many works by Michelangelo in Florence but above all where his presence is physically felt: San Lorenzo. Michelangelo was asked to accomplish the facade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo which had become the Medici church. Too bad that then, Pope Leo X, making excuses of an economic nature, stopped the job just when Michelangelo had already made a wooden model and chosen the best Carrara marbles. It went better with the commission for the Medici-Laurentian Library which was almost completed by Michelangelo before moving to Rome. And the same happened for the New Sacristy, inside the complex of the Basilica of San Lorenzo. The Sacristy was to be the burial place of four important Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, Lorenzo Duke of Urbino and Giuliano Duke of Nemours. Here are preserved some of the most famous works of Michelangelo in Florence: the sculptures dedicated to the great Medici and allegories of the time.
Academia Gallery and “David”
Being almost in contact with these works by Michelangelo is an experience that causes strong emotions, close to Stendhal syndrome. Our day dedicated to the search for Michelangelo's works in Florence ends with a close encounter with the hero who embodies the republican virtues of Florence. David is kept in the Academy Gallery: millions of visitors every year line up neatly to admire this world masterpiece. David is there waiting, patient to be admired, proud, confident, a contemporary hero. Michelangelo was 25 years old when he began to liberate the biblical hero from marble which was then positioned in Piazza della Signoria as a symbol of the Florentine Republic. In the same large space of the Gallery, there are also other works by Michelangelo: the Prisoners, the Pietà of Palestrina, St. Matthew. They are unfinished and tremendously actual works: we will discuss them together if you want.
From Uffizi Gallery to Michelangelo Square
There is yet another work by Michelangelo in Florence, the only pictorial work by Michelangelo in Florence: the Holy Family, also known as Tondo Doni. The painting is kept inside the Uffizi and to admire it, it is necessary to dedicate a few hours to visit the Gallery. You can contact me for information about it. Our day dedicated to Michelangelo's works in Florence ends with the most beautiful panorama in the world: the one you can enjoy from Piazzale Michelangelo and where the first replica of the David is located ... but here to see there is much more!