The Cappella dei Principi ('Chapel of the Princes') is the mausoleum of the

Grand Dukes of Tuscany This is a list of grand dukes of Tuscany. The title was created on 27 August 1569 by a papal bull of Pope Pius V to Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de' Medici, member of the illustrious House of Medici. His coronation took pl ...

and their families and is part of the museum complex of the

Medici Chapels The Medici Chapels () are two chapels built between the 16th and 17th centuries as an extension to the Basilica of San Lorenzo, in the Italian city of Florence. They are the Sagrestia Nuova ('New Sacristy'), designed by Michelangelo, and the lar ...

, adjacent to the Basilica of San Lorenzo,

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

History

The chapel was based on the idea that the Grand Duke

Cosimo II de' Medici Cosimo II de' Medici (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his death. He was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. For the majority of his 12-year rei ...

wanted to create a monument for a family tomb. Work began on the tomb under Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici, who appointed the 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 the architects

Alessandro Pieroni Alessandro Pieroni (18 April 1550 in Impruneta – 24 July 1607 in Livorno) was an Italian architect and painter. He was active mainly in a Mannerist style, working for the courts of Grandukes Francesco I and Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke ...

and Don Giovanni de' Medici. It has a large dome and marble interior. The octagonal room is wide and is surmounted by a dome which reaches a height of , the second most majestic in the city after Filippo Brunelleschi's dome. During the first half of the eighteenth century, the Italian noblewoman

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (11 August 1667 – 18 February 1743) was an Italian noblewoman who was the last lineal descendant of the main branch of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medicis' large art collection, in ...

financed the construction of the large windows and cupola, and the internal decoration of the vault, which was executed by the painter

Pietro Benvenuti Pietro Benvenuti (8 January 1769 – 3 February 1844) was an Italian Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter. Biography Early life and education Born in Arezzo in Tuscany, he was influenced by the style of Jacques-Louis David. He was a student of ...

between 1828 and 1837. The chapel flooring of semiprecious stone inlay was only completed in 1962. The octagonal room is almost entirely covered with stones and different-coloured marbles. The six porphyry

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

of the Grand Dukes are contained in niches along the walls and are complemented by bronze statues. The interior has rich inlays in commesso, also referred to as Florentine mosaic, a method of piecing together semi-precious stones. The practice was started in 1588 by the famous artistic workshops, the Opificio in Florence, using colored stones,

mother of pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...

, and

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

to reproduce the coats of arms of the sixteen Tuscan cities loyal to the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

family. The paintings in the dome are of the Creation, All, the Death of Abel, the Sacrifice of Noah, the Nativity, the Crucifxion, the Resurrection, and the Last Judgment, and are by Pietro Benvenuti. The statues of Ferdinand I and

were executed by

Pietro Tacca Pietro Tacca (16 September 1577 – 26 October 1640) was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity. Biography Born in Carr ...

between 1626 and 1642. The other grand ducal tombs belong to

Cosimo I Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

(1519–1574), Francesco I (1541–1587), and

Cosimo III Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdina ...

(who succeeded Ferdinand II, 1643–1723). The

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...

was to have been located in the center of the atrium, although the various attempts to buy or steal it from

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

failed. The sarcophagi are actually empty and the real remains of the Grand Dukes and their family members (about fifty major and minor) up to

(last heir of the dynasty, 1667–1743), are kept in simple rooms created in the floor of the underlying crypt. From behind the altar there is access to a small room where other precious

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s are displayed, some of which were donated to the city by

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

Early visits to the chapel

The Dutch traveler

Cornelis de Bruijn Cornelis de Bruijn or Cornelius de Bruyn (; 16521726/7), also formerly known in English by his French name Corneille Le Brun, was a Dutch artist and traveler. He made two large tours and published illustrated books with his observations of peop ...

visited the chapel on 12 December 1674. He wrote, while describing his visit to Florence:

''I also saw a very precious chapel that had been worked on for seventy-eight years, although it was far from being half-finished. This project was started by Ferdinand the First, Duke of Florence. In this chapel, there is a cushion that would have cost thirty thousand crowns, adorned with precious gemstones and decorated with the most beautiful stones obtainable. I was shown a marble stone on which five masters had worked for seven years before it could be used. The altar boasts five heavy pillars of cristal de montagne (rock crystal).Translated from old Dutch to modern English by ChatGPT, se
original source in old Dutch
/ref>''

This description was later understood to be a reference to the Cappella dei Principi. If the statement regarding 78 years of work is true, it could indicate that work on the chapel started as early as 1596, when Ferdinand was around 47 years of age. This would also indicate that the already mentioned architect Matteo Nigetti was appointed 8 years after the initial work had started.

Gallery

File:"Ein beeindruckendes Mausoleum". 09.jpg, Dome interior File:Stemma di Firenze, Capelle Medicee.jpg, Inlay of the coat of arms of Florence File:Statue and sarcophagus of Cosimo II in the Chapel of the Princes (61393).jpg, Statue and sarcophagus of

File:Chapel of the Princes, early 17th century; San Lorenzo, Florence (5) (48768159143).jpg, Sarcophagus of

Cosimo III de' Medici Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder s ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Burials at San Lorenzo, Florence Chapels in Florence House of Medici Mannerist architecture in Italy National museums of Italy San Lorenzo, Florence

History

Early visits to the chapel

Gallery

See also

References

External links