The only two places in Florence where I was particularly vexed by queues were the Uffizi, and the entrance to the
Cappelle Medicee, or Medici Chapels. Events constantly conspired against me visiting them. I had read in no less than two sources that the chapels were open until 16.50. That’s fairly early, so I didn’t try to visit them on my first two days in Florence. I made for them on my third day, but stopped for lunch first. Well fed and watered I finally reached the plain and otherwise unadorned entrance beside the Basilica of San Lorenzo, only to find that they do not close at 16:50. They close at 13:50. Ten minuted before I reached there (if only I hadn’t stopped for lunch!). So I thought I’d try the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, the library designed by Michelangelo. But that shut at 13:00. And it is closed on Saturdays. So while I could pay a hurried visit to the Cappelle on my last morning in town, I would have to miss the Library.
Arriving at the Capelle at 10:00 the next morning I found that they were indeed open – hurrah! And there was no queue. Instead there was a scrum. People forced their way at random to get to the door. All very disorganised. Anyway, I managed to pay my €4.00 and enter. Inside there is a low vault in grey marble. This has the tombs of the 17th century family set into the floor. Gian Gastone, last of the Medici dukes (and by all accounts an alcoholic introvert who refused to appear in public for the last eight years of his rule), gets pride of place. Of course, his sister Anna Maria Luisa outlived him, but she was a mere woman, and so could not inherit. Instead she bequeathed all the family’s art and books to Florence, and is much loved in the city as a result.
From here you head upstairs, and… wow. From the campanile or San Miniato you can see a red-tiled dome, a smaller cousin to that of the duomo. I presumed that this belonged to the next-door Basilica of San Lorenzo. Oh no. The church does not have anything so grand as a dome. The dome belongs to the
Cappella dei Principi, the Chapel of Princes, a huge silo of green and red marble inset with precious stones. It is like stepping into a jewellery box. To be honest, I just wasn’t expecting it. Strangely, there are only a few family members buried here – later generations went for the plainer area downstairs. It is hard to imagine, for example, a British monarch getting away with creating a funerary chapel of such opulence and garishness for themselves. It is brazenly, breath-takingly shameless. It really must have been the moment when the Medici thought to themselves: "Fuck it. We OWN Florence!".
At the other end of a short corridor is the New Sacristy, or
Sagrestia Nuova. This pale clinical chapel contains two tombs, both designed by Michelangelo. Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, is depicted as a thoughtful and contemplative figure. In reality he was an unpopular bully. On his sarcophagus lie two allegorical works by Michelangelo, ‘Dawn’ and ‘Dusk’. Giulano, Duke of Nemours, is dressed as a Roman general, clutching a marshal’s baton. In actual fact he was a slothful individual who ruled Florence for less than a year.His sarcophagus bears ‘Day’ and ‘Night’. In both cases, to my eyes the male half of the couple did not look quite finished. Still, they are quite haunting works of great beauty.
I found the Cappelle Medicee the most troublesome site in Florence to visit. Thye seem to have fairly arbitrary opening hours which change at short notice. If you want to visit I receommend that you pop over beforehand just to check what the latest opening hours are. It seems that morning gives you by far the best chance of finding them open.
From journal Florence, Birth-Place of the Renaissance