San Lorenzo and Cappelle Medicee, Florence


	San Lorenzo and Cappelle Medicee The Medici paid for so much of this church that their tombs fill both sacristies and chancel. Brunelleschi designed San Lorenzo in 1419, the first church to be built in the Renaissance style. The harmonious proportions of the arcaded side aisles and the old sacristy, the perspective down the nave to the altar, the quiet repetition of details create a sense of both order and elegance. More expressionistic are the dramatic panels of two bronze pulpits, the last works by Donatello. Brunelleschi's Old Sacristy, at the end of the left transept, is decorated with bronze doors and medallions (also by Donatello). Off the cloister of San Lorenzo is the Laurentian Library, designed by Michelangelo in 1524, containing the Medici collection of rare books. Adjoining the presbytery of San Lorenzo (but entered from outside the church), the Medici Chapels are elaborate baroque mausoleums containing the tombs of six Medici grand dukes. You pass through the marble vaults to reach the domed Capella dei Principi, the Medici's memorial chapel, decorated with semiprecious stones, marble, and gilt bronzes. In San Lorenzo's north transept is the so-called New Sacristy or Sagrestia Nuova, built by Michelangelo in 1604. The New Sacristy contains Michelangelo's famous sculptured tombs for the Medici, and atop each tomb are his reclining statues Dawn and Dusk and Night and Day. Address: Piazza San Lorenzo Florence Italy Telephone: +39 (55) 21-32-06