Overview

Who was Michelangelo Buonarroti, the well-known poet, painter, sculptor, and architect? Take this Michelangelo tour to discover the city where the artist was raised and created many of his masterpieces, following his footsteps.

Join our experienced guide as you meander around the charming cobblestone alleys of this magnificent Renaissance city to learn about Michelangelo's birthplace, family history, childhood home, what and where he studied and his many artworks. Funny stories, anecdotes, and tales can help you understand him better as you become acquainted with his rivals and personality.

With the assistance of our guide, you will tour the Accademia Gallery, the Medici Chapels, the Bargello Museum and the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Between the visits of these museums, you will also come across fascinating locations associated with this famous artist.

The tour will conclude inside the Accademia Gallery, allowing anyone who want to spend more time in this exquisite museum to do so.

Description

Stop At: Basilica of Santa Croce, Piazza Santa Croce 16, Florence 50122

The Basilica of Santa Croce is one of the largest Franciscan churches and one of the greatest Gothic achievements in Italy.
Santa Croce is a prestigious symbol of Florence, the meeting place of the greatest artists, theologians, religious people, men of letters, humanists and politicians, who determined, through good times and bad, the identity of the late medieval and Renaissance city. Famous figures from the history of the Church such as Saint Bonaventure, Peter of Giovanni Olivi, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Bernardino of Siena, Saint Louis of Anjou also found hospitality inside. It was also a welcoming place for popes such as Sixtus IV, Eugene IV, Leone X and Clemente XIV.
In the church there are the tombs of the greatest artists that Italy has given to the world.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Via del Proconsolo 4, Florence 50122

Masterpieces from the Renaissance and Mannerist periods can be found in the Bargello. We will see four of Michelangelo's most significant sculptures: Tondo Pitti, a stunning example of the renowned "non finito," Bacchus, Brutus, and David-Apollo. Important parallels can also be made with other pieces in the collection, such as the bronze David sculptures by Donatello and Verrocchio.

Duration: 40 minutes

Stop At: Piazza della Signoria, Florence 50122

Piazza della Signoria is the main square of Florence, seat of civil power and heart of the city's social life. It is located in the central part of medieval Florence, south of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. In the past it has taken on various names, such as Piazza dei Priori or Piazza del Granduca.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Florence 50122

Florence's town hall is called Palazzo Vecchio, or "Old Palace". It looks over Piazza della Signoria, as well as the nearby Loggia dei Lanzi's statue gallery.
This building was originally known as Palazzo della Signoria, however, due to the palace's varied uses over the course of its lengthy history, its name changed many times (Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori and Palazzo Ducale). After the Medici duke's home was relocated inside Palazzo Pitti across the Arno River, the structure was given its current name.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Florence 50121

The Loggia dei Lanzi, also known as Loggia della Signoria, is a structure that stands next to the Uffizi Gallery in Piazza della Signoria. It is made up of large arches that face the roadway. With Corinthian capitals, the arches are supported by a cluster of pilasters. Because the Florentine patrons found the wide arches so appealing, Michelangelo suggested encircling Piazza della Signoria with them.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Church and Museum of Orsanmichele, Via dell'Arte della Lana, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy

The church of Orsanmichele is a historic building in the center of Florence. It was originally a loggia built for the storage and market of grain, later transformed into a church of the Arts, the ancient Florentine guilds. Today on the upper floors it houses a museum, with the originals of the sculptural cycle of its external niches and the famous statues of Donatello and Ghiberti.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Piazza del Duomo 9, Florence 50122

Our next stop will be the Opera del Duomo museum, where we will see the Palestrina Pietà, one of Michelangelo final creations, which is a piece of art that is impossible to see in person without being touched and moved. This Pietà, which Michelangelo carved for his own tomb, captures the agony and suffering of his latter years.

You will also see the original Gates of Paradise inside the museum, the main gate of the Baptistry of Florence (Battistero di San Giovanni), located in front of the Cathedral.

The Porta del Paradiso, in Italian, was created by Florentine goldsmith and sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti between 1425 and 1452 and installed in the eastern portal of the Baptistery.
The Gates have been praised by generations of artists and art historians for their compelling portrayal of scenes from the Old Testament.
Over time, the seventeen-foot-tall, three-ton bronze doors became an icon of Renaissance, one of the most famous works of art in the world.

Duration: 40 minutes

Stop At: Duomo - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Via della Canonica, 1, Piazza del Duomo, Florence 50122

Santa Maria del Fiore is one of the largest churches in the world. The plan consists of a triple-nave basilica with the presbytery area nested within, dominated by the large octagon of the immense dome, around which are three radial apses, each consisting of five chapels. The cathedral is 153 meters (502 feet) in length, 90 meters (295 feet) wide at the transept, and 90 meters high from floor to base of the dome lantern. The title “Santa Maria del Fiore” (Our Lady of the flower) alludes to the name of the city, "Florentia", or “city of flowers”, “destined to bloom”, and to its emblem, the Florentine lily.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Cappelle Medicee, Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy

Visiting the New Sacristy at the Medici Chapels, where the exquisiteness of the tombs of some Medici family members will wow you, is a must-do for any Michelangelo tour of Florence. You will discover during this encounter how much the artist and his works were influenced by the Medici family.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Galleria dell'Accademia, Via Ricasoli, 58/60, Florence 50122

The last stop on the tour will be the renowned Accademia Museum, home of Michelangelo's David, one of the most well-known statues in existence. There will be time set out to comprehend this sculpture as well as to view another of his creations, "Prisoners," which was begun but never completed when it was commissioned for Pope Julius II's tomb.
The tour will end here, although those who want to continue exploring this beautiful museum will be welcome.

Duration: 40 minutes