Casa Buonarroti is a museum in

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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

that is situated on property owned by the sculptor

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

that he left to his nephew, Leonardo Buonarroti. The complex of buildings was converted into a museum dedicated to the artist by his great nephew, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger. Its collections include two of Michelangelo's earliest marble sculptures, the '' Madonna of the Stairs'' and the '' Battle of the Centaurs''. A ten-thousand book library includes the family archive and some of Michelangelo's letters and drawings. The Galleria is decorated with paintings commissioned by Buonarroti the Younger and was created by

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi ( ; ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished 17th century, 17th-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing professional ...

and other early seventeenth-century Italian artists.

History

On 3 March 1508, Michelangelo, who had moved temporarily to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

three years earlier to work on the Tomb of Pope Julius II, bought four adjoining buildings in Florence at the corner of via Ghibellina and via Santa Maria (now via Buonarroti), just north of the Basilica di Santa Croce. He acquired another adjacent structure in April 1514. These five buildings were the nucleus of what later would become the Casa Buonarroti. Michelangelo occupied the two most spacious buildings of the complex from 1516 to 1525, renting out the other three. During that period he was working on the façade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. In 1525, he moved to another residence in Florence and all five buildings were rented out. After moving permanently to Rome in 1534, Michelangelo became increasingly obsessed with the idea of having an "honorable home" in his native city of Florence, as a palace that would represent his family with dignity. He repeatedly asked his nephew Leonardo (1519–1599) to transform the five buildings at the corner of via Ghibellina and via Santa Maria into a family palace, but no work was initiated. Upon the death of Michelangelo, Leonardo inherited the estate of his uncle. Showing little interest in the project, however, Leonardo committing only to a partial restoration of the complex that was carried out in 1590, 26 years after Michelangelo's death. The palace Michelangelo desired finally was created and was given its present configuration by one of Leonardo's sons, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1568–1647), who further expanded the complex by purchasing an adjacent lot. He had the buildings reconfigured into a unified structure. Following the concept of the '' piano nobile'', he arranged four monumental rooms dedicated to the celebration of his great-uncle and his family. He also dedicated a gallery for displaying the works of art in his art collection, including Michelangelo's '' Madonna of the Stairs'', his earliest known work in marble, and the '' Battle of the Centaurs''. Michelangelo the Younger commissioned a number of contemporary Italian artists to decorate the interior rooms, including the work of

, Cecco Bravo, Pietro da Cortona, Jacopo da Empoli, Francesco Furini, Giovanni da San Giovanni, Domenico Passignano,

Ottavio Vannini Ottavio Vannini (September 15, 1585 – c. 1643) was an Italian artist of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. Biography Born in Florence to Michele Vannini. He initially apprenticed for four years with a mediocre painter by th ...

, and Jacopo Vignali. In 1962, '' Santo Spirito Crucifix'' was put on display at the museum and investigations into its authenticity ensued. The investigations confirmed the attribution to Michelangelo in 2001 and determined that the sculpture was made for the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

of the Church of Santo Spirito di Firenze in

, perhaps as early as 1492 when Michelangelo was a teenager.Crucifix 'confirmed' as a Michelangelo

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 18 July 2001. Retrieved on 18 May 2009 The crucifix now hangs in the octagonal sacristy of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito.

Main works in the collections

;

*'' Madonna of the Stairs'', c. 1491 *'' Battle of the Centaurs'', c. 1492 ;

*'' Allegory of Inclination'', 1615–1616

Gallery

File:Buonarotti-scala.jpg, ''Madonna of the Stairs'' File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 01.JPG, ''Battle of the Centaurs'' File:A Gentileschi Allegoria dell'inclinazione.jpg, ''Allegory of Inclination''

References

External links

Casa Buonarroti
{{Authority control Michelangelo Art museums and galleries in Florence Buonarroti Sculpture galleries in Italy Buonarroti

History

Main works in the collections

Gallery

See also

References

External links