Mysteries and secrets of the Medici family.
For more than three centuries, the fabulously wealthy Medici family from the Italian city of Florence remained one of the most powerful and influential dynasties. The family gave the world two European queens and two popes.
Art aficionados can thank the Medici for sponsoring and supporting the great talents of the Renaissance: Michelangelo, Botticelli, Donatello.
Influenced by the Medici, the achievements of Proto-Renaissance art (1300-1400) were surpassed many times over during the 15th-century Florentine Renaissance. This was most noticeable in the creation of a large number of sculptures that adorned the city’s squares and buildings. Like the ancient Greeks and Romans, the people of Florence regarded statues as an important public art.
In Florence itself, the Medici dynasty had a mixed attitude, but even today it is hard to find a corner where the famous family has not made its mark. But how exactly did they achieve such influence and wealth, and did they always use it for good?
Find out the truth:
Conspiracies, treason, revenge, lavish celebrations, successful deals, favourable marriages, unlimited power and exile from Florence – this is the story of the Medici family. You’ll see the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, their first residence, the Palazzo Pitti, the largest palace in Florence, and the Palazzo Ducale (Palazzo Vecchio), where the conspirators who dared to oppose the family were hanged.
You’ll see the Medici Chapel (Chapel of the Princes) and much more.
You’ll see the churches where they married, baptised children and buried relatives, where they conspired against the Medicis, and where they simply came to hear mass without being noticed: the Church of St Lawrence, the famous Duomo and the Church of St Felicita.
