Bill's Aviation Log

Looking up at the entrance. It's modest look belied the opulence of what we soon would see.

The first chapel we saw was the Sagrestia Nuova, also known as the New Sacristy and the Medici Chapel. It is a mausoleum that stands as a testament to the grandeur and artistic vision of the Medici family.

Constructed in 1520, the mausoleum was designed by the Italian artist and architect Michelangelo. It is situated adjacent to the Basilica di San Lorenzo.

Below is the tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino. HIs portrait, in classicising armor, is idealised, but his absorbed look highlights his comtemplative temperament.

Lorenzo (1492 – 1519) was the ruler of Florence from 1516 until his death in 1519. He was also Duke of Urbino during the same period. His paternal grandparents were Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini. His daughter Catherine de' Medici became Queen Consort of France, while his illegitimate son, Alessandro de' Medici, became the first Duke of Florence. Alessandro is also buried in this tomb.

On the lid of the tomb lie Dusk falling asleep and Dawn lifting the veil from her head as she awakens, grieving over the Duke's absence from this earthly life. Both Dawn and Dusk were sculpted by Michelangelo.

Famously, Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated his political treatise "The Prince" to Lorenzo to advise him of tactics to use to maintain his authority.

Then we moved to the second chapel, the Chapel of the Princes, which took our breath away. It is the mausoleum of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

The Chapel was based on the idea that the Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici wanted to create a monument for a family tomb. Work began on the tomb under Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici who appointed architect and sculptor Matteo Nigetti in 1604, based on a design by Don Giovanni de' Medici, brother of the Grand Duke himself. Nigetti completed the mausoleum in 1640. He was assisted by architects Alessandro Pieroni and Don Giovanni de' Medici, Ferdinand's half-brother.

Working to a commission from Cosimo I (1519-1574), Giogio Visari produced a plan in the 1570s for a monumental marble-clad mausoleum. The project only got underway, however, after Ferdinando I came to power, and it was not until January 1605 that the foundation stone was laid. The Medici crypt was completed in 1608. The Dome's inner shell was completed in 1654. Work on the project proceeded at a sluggish pace thereafter until Anna Maria Luisa -- whose statue we saw at the entrance -- decided to dignify the memory of her family's political and cultural prominance. She financed the construction of the large windows and cupola, and the internal decoration of the vault, which was executed by the painter Pietro Benvenuti between 1828 and 1837. Work on the dome and interior decoration ceased on her death in 1743.

The chapel has a large dome and marble interior. The octagonal room is 92 ft wide and is surmounted by the dome of San Lorenzo, which reaches a height of 194 ft, the second most majestic in the city after Filippo Brunelleschi's dome.

The paintings in the dome are of the Creation, All, Dealth of Abel, Sacrifice of Noah, Nativity, Death and Resurrection, Last Judgment. All were by Pietro Benvenuti.

The octagonal room is almost entirely covered with stones and different-coloured marbles. The interior has rich inlays in commesso, also referred as Florentine mosaic, a method of piecing together semi-precious stones. The practice was started in 1588 by the famous artistic workshops, Opificio in Florence, using colored stones, mother of pearl, lapis lazuli, and coral to reproduce the coats of arms of the sixteen Tuscan cities loyal to the Medici family.

Below is an impressive coat of arms of one of the Tuscan cities.

At top center is the statue and sarcophagus of Cosimo II de' Medici. At left is Ferdinand I.

Interestingly, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was to be located in the center of the atrium, although the various attempts to buy or steal it from Jerusalem failed. According to traditions dating to the fourth century, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains both the site where Jesus was crucified at Calvary, or Golgotha, and the location of Jesus's empty tomb, where he was buried and resurrected. Both locations are considered immensely holy sites by Christians.

Behind the altar are two small rooms containing the Treasures of San Lorenzo. the altar we checked out to a small room where precious relics are displayed, some of which were donated to the city by Pope Leo X.

We ate dinner in the fancy dining room of the St. Regis Florence, across from our hotel, the Weston Excelsior.

May 25, 2024 - Classic Italy Florence: Medici Chapels
The Medici Chapels are two chapels built between the 16th and 17th centuries as an extension to the Basilica of San Lorenzo. The two chapels are the Sagrestia Nuova ('New Sacristy'), designed by Michelangelo, and the larger Cappella dei Principi ('Chapel of the Princes'), a collaboration between the Medici family and architects. The purpose of the chapels was to celebrate the Medici family, patrons of the church and Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

Looking up at the entrance. It's modest look belied the opulence of what we soon would see.

In the basement entrance stands this statue of Anna Marie Luisa de' Medici, the last lineal descendant of the main branch of the House of Medici. Anna Maria Luisa's single most enduring act was the Family Pact. It ensured that all the Medicean art and treasures collected over nearly three centuries of political ascendancy remained in Florence. Cynthia Miller Lawrence, an American art historian, argues that Anna Maria Luisa thus provisioned for Tuscany's future economy through tourism. Sixteen years after her death, the Uffizi Gallery was made open to public viewing. Her death, in 1743, brought the grand ducal House of Medici to an end. Her remains were interred in the Medicean necropolis, Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, which she helped complete.

The first chapel we saw was the Sagrestia Nuova, also known as the New Sacristy and the Medici Chapel. It is a mausoleum that stands as a testament to the grandeur and artistic vision of the Medici family. Constructed in 1520, the mausoleum was designed by the Italian artist and architect Michelangelo. It is situated adjacent to the Basilica di San Lorenzo. Below is the tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino. HIs portrait, in classicising armor, is idealised, but his absorbed look highlights his comtemplative temperament. Lorenzo (1492 – 1519) was the ruler of Florence from 1516 until his death in 1519. He was also Duke of Urbino during the same period. His paternal grandparents were Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini. His daughter Catherine de' Medici became Queen Consort of France, while his illegitimate son, Alessandro de' Medici, became the first Duke of Florence. Alessandro is also buried in this tomb. On the lid of the tomb lie Dusk falling asleep and Dawn lifting the veil from her head as she awakens, grieving over the Duke's absence from this earthly life. Both Dawn and Dusk were sculpted by Michelangelo. Famously, Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated his political treatise "The Prince" to Lorenzo to advise him of tactics to use to maintain his authority.

The sepulchre with the mortal remains of Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449 - 1492) and his brother Giuliano (killed during the Pazzi Conspiracy in 1478), surmounted by three sculptures. In the center is Michelangelo's statue of Madonna and Child (known as the Medici Madonna), completed in 1521. The Madonna is flanked by the two patron saints of the Medici family: on the right Saint Cosmas, executed by the Florentine sculptor Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli in 1537, and on the left Saint Damian, by the sculptor and architect Raffaello da Montelupo in 1531, who began working with Michelangelo on the Sagrestia Nuova at an early age. Cosmas and Damian, who were physicians (medici), hold their doctor's boxes of salves and nostrums. Saint Cosmas is also attributed to Montelupo, together with Montorsoli, another assistant to Michelangelo, after a model by the master. The three statues were later placed by Giorgio Vasari on a simple marble chest housing the remains of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano de' Medici, for whom there was never the time to build a larger monumental tomb. Lorenzo the Magnificent was an Italian statesman, the de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lorenzo held the balance of power within the Italic League, an alliance of states that stabilized political conditions on the Italian Peninsula for decades, and his life coincided with the mature phase of the Italian Renaissance and the golden age of Florence. As a patron, he is best known for his sponsorship of artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo. Michelangelo lived in Lorenzo's house as a young man and was practically treated as a member of the family. On the foreign policy front, Lorenzo manifested a clear plan to stem the territorial ambitions of Pope Sixtus IV, in the name of the balance of the Italic League of 1454. For these reasons, Lorenzo was the subject of the Pazzi conspiracy (1478), in which his brother Giuliano was assassinated. The Peace of Lodi of 1454 that he supported among the various Italian states collapsed with his death.

Lorenzo the Magnificent

Tomb of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, with Night and Day. Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici (1479 – 1516) was an Italian nobleman, the third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and a ruler of Florence. Born in Florence, he was raised with his brothers Piero and Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, who became Pope Leo X; as well as his cousin Giulio de' Medici, who became Pope Clement VII. The statue of Giuliano and Night and Day are all sculpted by Michelangelo.

The New Sacristy's Dome.

Then we moved to the second chapel, the Chapel of the Princes, which took our breath away. It is the mausoleum of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. The Chapel was based on the idea that the Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici wanted to create a monument for a family tomb. Work began on the tomb under Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici who appointed architect and sculptor Matteo Nigetti in 1604, based on a design by Don Giovanni de' Medici, brother of the Grand Duke himself. Nigetti completed the mausoleum in 1640. He was assisted by architects Alessandro Pieroni and Don Giovanni de' Medici, Ferdinand's half-brother. Working to a commission from Cosimo I (1519-1574), Giogio Visari produced a plan in the 1570s for a monumental marble-clad mausoleum. The project only got underway, however, after Ferdinando I came to power, and it was not until January 1605 that the foundation stone was laid. The Medici crypt was completed in 1608. The Dome's inner shell was completed in 1654. Work on the project proceeded at a sluggish pace thereafter until Anna Maria Luisa -- whose statue we saw at the entrance -- decided to dignify the memory of her family's political and cultural prominance. She financed the construction of the large windows and cupola, and the internal decoration of the vault, which was executed by the painter Pietro Benvenuti between 1828 and 1837. Work on the dome and interior decoration ceased on her death in 1743. The chapel has a large dome and marble interior. The octagonal room is 92 ft wide and is surmounted by the dome of San Lorenzo, which reaches a height of 194 ft, the second most majestic in the city after Filippo Brunelleschi's dome. The paintings in the dome are of the Creation, All, Dealth of Abel, Sacrifice of Noah, Nativity, Death and Resurrection, Last Judgment. All were by Pietro Benvenuti.

During the first half of the eighteenth century, Italian noblewoman Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, financed the construction of the large windows and cupola, and the internal decoration of the vault, which was executed by the painter Pietro Benvenuti between 1828 and 1837. The six porphyry sarcophagi of the Grand Dukes are contained in niches along the walls and complemented by bronze statues.

The octagonal room is almost entirely covered with stones and different-coloured marbles. The interior has rich inlays in commesso, also referred as Florentine mosaic, a method of piecing together semi-precious stones. The practice was started in 1588 by the famous artistic workshops, Opificio in Florence, using colored stones, mother of pearl, lapis lazuli, and coral to reproduce the coats of arms of the sixteen Tuscan cities loyal to the Medici family. Below is an impressive coat of arms of one of the Tuscan cities.

The statues of the grand dukes for Ferdinand I and Cosimo II de' Medici were made by Pietro Tacca performed between 1626 and 1642. The other grand ducal tombs belong to Cosimo I (1519-1574), Francesco I (1541-1587), and Cosimo III (Succeeded Ferdinand II, 1643-1723). The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was to be located in the center of the atrium, although the various attempts to buy or steal it from Jerusalem failed. The sarcophagus are actually empty and the real remains of the Grand Dukes and their family members (about fifty major and minor) up to Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (last heir of the dynasty, 1667–1743), are kept in simple rooms created in the floor of the underlying crypt. Below is the statue and sarcophagus of Ferdinand I de' Medici.

The main altar. At one time it was made of semi-precious stones but it was dismantled in 1779. The later pictured here, made of painted wood and inlay of different periods, was erected in 1938 when Adolf Hitler came here on a visit to Florence and it was never placed.

Close-up.

The money ran out before a statue could be sculpted and placed in this niche.



At top center is the statue and sarcophagus of Cosimo II de' Medici. At left is Ferdinand I. Interestingly, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was to be located in the center of the atrium, although the various attempts to buy or steal it from Jerusalem failed. According to traditions dating to the fourth century, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains both the site where Jesus was crucified at Calvary, or Golgotha, and the location of Jesus's empty tomb, where he was buried and resurrected. Both locations are considered immensely holy sites by Christians.

The Chapel flooring of semiprecious stone inlay was only completed in 1969 to a design approved in 1882.

Not too shabby.

Behind the altar are two small rooms containing the Treasures of San Lorenzo. the altar we checked out to a small room where precious relics are displayed, some of which were donated to the city by Pope Leo X.

This is a processional banner known as The Bandinella, given by Pope Leo X -- born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici -- to the Basilica of San Lorenzo. The papal tiera, coat of arms and other symbols of Pope Leo X and of the Medici are embroidered on the banner. Leo X was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death, in December 1521.



A grisly relic -- a finger of one of the Medici.



Pizza making and gelato.

We ate dinner in the fancy dining room of the St. Regis Florence, across from our hotel, the Weston Excelsior.


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May 25, 2024 - Classic Italy Florence: Medici Chapels

May 25, 2024 - Classic Italy
Florence: Medici Chapels