The Renaissance in one place:
from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo
Duration: 2:30 hours
On foot
Accessible to people with disabilities
Tickets are extra, we will buy them and they are NO REFUNDABLE.
What's included in the tour:
Private tour guide
Priority access to the museum
Headphones for parties of more than 6 people
Customized itinerary
Full assistance during the tour
Discover the San Lorenzo Church and the Medici Chapels with Guided Florence Tours
In the heart of Florence, the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapels hold the essence of this extraordinary artistic and intellectual revolution.
Here, Filippo Brunelleschi laid down the mathematical rules of 15th-century architecture, defining the principles of perspective and harmony in the Old Sacristy. A century later, in the New Sacristy, Michelangelo shattered those same rules, marking the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of a new artistic vision, more dramatic and intense.
Walking through these spaces means traveling through time, witnessing the creative genius of two of the greatest minds in history. It is a journey through beauty, power, and the eternal ambitions of the Medici family, who made Florence the cradle of the Renaissance.
What to Expect
To step into this tour is to cross an invisible boundary between order and revolution, between geometric rigor and pure artistic expression.
In the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the spiritual heart of the Medici, everything speaks of their grandeur: from Donatello’s pulpits to the simple tomb of Cosimo the Elder, the Father of the Fatherland.
But it is in the Old Sacristy that Brunelleschi writes the grammar of the Renaissance, creating a perfectly proportioned space where light and symmetry merge into a timeless mathematical
harmony.
And then comes Michelangelo. In the New Sacristy, his vision shatters the certainties of the past: his sculptures twist, breaking free from the rigidity of form, revealing deep emotions and human turmoil. Here, the Renaissance transforms, evolves, and prepares to leave behind classical perfection to embrace the drama of Mannerism.
Our expert guides will lead you on this unique journey, unveiling how, in a single place, the birth and the end of the Renaissance coexist. This will not be just a visit, but an emotional experience that will allow you to see Florence with new eyes.
The History
When the Medici rose to power, they needed a church that reflected their status and vision. San Lorenzo, one of the oldest churches in Florence, became their spiritual and political sanctuary.
Filippo Brunelleschi, the genius behind Florence’s dome, was commissioned to design the Old Sacristy (1421-1428). His work was revolutionary: a perfect cube topped with a hemispherical dome, a masterpiece of symmetry and proportion that embodied the ideals of Renaissance architecture.
In 1520, the Medici commissioned Michelangelo to design the New Sacristy as a tribute to their legacy. But what Michelangelo created was something radically different. Instead of Brunelleschi’s serene symmetry, he infused the space with tension and movement. The tombs of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, are guarded by his celebrated allegories of Day and Night, Dawn and Dusk. These figures seem restless, trapped between life and death, embodying the artist’s inner turmoil and the transition from the Renaissance to Mannerism.
Michelangelo never completed the New Sacristy as he had envisioned it. Called to Rome, he left Florence forever. And yet, his unfinished work speaks volumes: it marks the end of an era, the moment when the Renaissance reaches its peak and begins to transform into something new.
Photo testimonials
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