Medicean Library
Medicean Library
art site
Piazza di San Lorenzo, 9, 50123 Firenze, Italia
Show on map
From the beautiful Renaissance cloister with its two orders with Ionic capitals we can admire the exterior of the famous library. The collection of papyruses, illuminated manuscripts and books begun by Cosimo the Elder de’ Medici, under the supervision of renowned humanists (Vespasiano da Bisticci, Poggio Bracciolini) is truly unique. After having been moved several times, the collection found its permanent home in 1523 when Clement VII, a Medici pope, commissioned Michelangelo to design the library. And the great artist continued to monitor the construction work even after he definitively left Florence for Rome in 1534. The sensation when we go up to the vestibule is overwhelming (it has most aptly been defined as “sculpted architecture): it is dominated by the three-part staircase that leads into the main reading room. Michelangelesque wall decorations seem to fill the room that was completed (wooden desks, carved ceiling, stained glass windows) according to precise instructions from the great Tuscan artist.
art site
Piazza di San Lorenzo, 9, 50123 Firenze, Italia
Show on map
From the beautiful Renaissance cloister with its two orders with Ionic capitals we can admire the exterior of the famous library. The collection of papyruses, illuminated manuscripts and books begun by Cosimo the Elder de’ Medici, under the supervision of renowned humanists (Vespasiano da Bisticci, Poggio Bracciolini) is truly unique. After having been moved several times, the collection found its permanent home in 1523 when Clement VII, a Medici pope, commissioned Michelangelo to design the library. And the great artist continued to monitor the construction work even after he definitively left Florence for Rome in 1534. The sensation when we go up to the vestibule is overwhelming (it has most aptly been defined as “sculpted architecture): it is dominated by the three-part staircase that leads into the main reading room. Michelangelesque wall decorations seem to fill the room that was completed (wooden desks, carved ceiling, stained glass windows) according to precise instructions from the great Tuscan artist.