Michelangelo died in Rome at the age of 88, but his body was brought back to Florence to be buried inside the Basilica of Santa Croce. It was his last request.
It houses a few of Michelangelo's sculptures: “Bacchus”, the most famous, "David Apollo", a bust of Brutus, and the “Tondo Pitti”, a round relief sculpture , depicting the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.
In the new hall on the second floor you will find Michelangelo’s “Holy Family and St John”, also known as the “Tondo Doni”. It was commissioned for the marriage of Angelo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi.
After the project for the new façade of San Lorenzo, the Medici asked Michelangelo to create their family funerary chapels in the Basilica. He worked on this project for much of the 1520s and 1530s.
Commissioned by Pope Leo X to reconstruct the façade, Michelangelo spent 3 years creating drawings and models. The project was then abruptly canceled and today the Basilica is still without a façade.
Michelangelo lived here for 5 years, until Lorenzo The Magnificent’s death. Inside there's "The Genius of Victory”. Find Michelangelo in Florence: http://bit.ly/1kAVjq5
Here is where the 14° century walls stopped. It was also known as the “Torre della Saggina” (Tower of Garbage): in this area, outside the walls, garbage and carcasses of dead animals were abandoned.
Here there's Porta alla Croce (1284). The name comes from the cross that was once here, indicating the place where, according to tradition, San Miniato, the 1° martyr of Florence, was beheaded.
3 bronze doors access this octagonal baptistery. Look closely at the frames - can you spot accurate bronze insects including locusts and flies? More Tuscan baptisteries: http://bit.ly/1fCeN8x
The “old bridge” once housed butchers, but the Medici, who had Vasari build his famous corridor above it, complained of the smell and installed goldsmiths here.
This market serves up great fresh ingredients to buy or eat on the spot: have lunch and be served by funny locals at "da Rocco"! More food markets around Florence: http://bit.ly/1qJtPlR
This huge palace (once home to the Medici) now contains numerous museums including the Palatine (paintings), costume, silver… and the Boboli Gardens of course.
