Today in Florence, we went to San Lorenzo, the parish of the Medicis, the Medici Riccardi Palace,the Medici’s former home, and the Palazzo Vecchio, the former government offices of the Medicis. San Lorenzo was the Medici’s parish church, and although it appears rather ordinary from the outside, it was strikingly elegant on the inside. We first walked through the crypts of the Medicis. The first floor, meant to represent their mortal side, had grave stones built into the floor with many of the Medici names. However, upon walking up the stairs, we were ushered into the Chapel of the Princes. Even unfinished, the amount of work and money that went into the beautiful marble and fresco covered room and dome was incredible. We were also shown Michaelangelo’s New Sacristy and Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy, in which more shrines to deceased Medici’s were kept.
At the Palazzo Vecchio, we had the opportunity to walk through some of the secret tunnels built into the thickness of the palaces original walls. We were able to see some of the former bedrooms of the Medici family as well as the Great Hall, which was filled with exquisite frescos. The Great Hall also houses a painting done by Leonardo da Vinci, although it is covered by another fresco. An attempt was made to find the painting by drilling a small hole through one of the frescos, but no evidence was found and currently research has been halted. We also had the privilege to see the structure of the roof as well as a hidden room that allowed people to view a room that was typically used for gatherings.
We went to the former residence of the Medici family. They lived there for a while until they had the Pitti Palace built, and sold their former home to the Riccardi family. Then we went to the Mercato Central. There we had lunch and shopped in the stalls outside. After a full day, we are ready to get some rest for another busy day tomorrow.