Palazzo Medici Riccardi, a historic building in the center of Florence, was the residence of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent of the Medici.
Designed by the architect Michelozzo, its style is cubic and imposing, sober and austere.
Inside there is a central square courtyard. The whole structure is a model of Florentine Renaissance civil architecture.
Near the Palace, the Medici bought a large green space where they could place classical sculptures of Roman origin. Here began what would become the first Academy of Fine Arts in Europe where young artists, including Michelangelo, copied and studied classical models to learn their artistic techniques.
The Palace was also the seat of the Neoplatonic circle in which, thanks to philosophers and humanist scholars who gathered here, Renaissance thought and art developed.
Book the tour with Floenceforanyone: from the courtyard of Michelozzo to the sculpture gardens, you can experience a journey into the heart of the Medici patronage.
Guided tour of Palazzo Medici Riccardi and duration of the visit
The façade of Palazzo Medici Riccardi, made of “ashlar”, is sober and elegant. What attracts attention is the progressive decrease in the protrusion of the stone while from the ground floor it rises until its complete flattening of the 3rd floor.
The inner courtyard once housed Donatello’s David, now housed in the Bargello museum. An effect of classical symmetry dominates the architectural and stylistic space.
The interior space of the Palace is rich in decorations. Here is the Chapel of the Magi, built by Benozzo Gozzoli on the Medici commission. It’s a small private space dating back to 1459. Called “dei Magi” (of the Magi) for the representation on three walls of the “Cavalcade of the Magi” in which some members of the Medici and political figures who came to Florence at the invitation of the Family are portrayed.
Enter the home of the Magnificent: book a guided tour and visit the palace that made the history of the Renaissance.
Stages of the guided tour
The visit to Palazzo Medici Riccardi includes the following stops:
- Facade
- Yard
- Chapel of the Magi
