LA CAPELLA DEI PRINCIPI (or chapel of the princes) in San Lorenzo in Florence is often overshadowed by Michelangelo’s comparatively austere adjacent chapel, but it is still an astonishing and space in its own right. I was fortunate to have this architectural jewel box to myself in the early evening sunshine last Friday. With its sumptuous revetment of marbles inlaid with colored marbles and semi-precious stone it forms an opulent showcase for the art of ‘commessi’, as it was called in Florence. The six grand sarcophagi are empty; the Medici remains are interred in the crypt below. The chapel was the result of collaboration between patrons and designers as the idea was formulated by Cosimo I, put into effect by Ferdinand I de' Medici; and designed by Matteo Nigetti, following some sketches tendered to an informal competition of 1602 by Don Giovanni de' Medici, the natural son of Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, which were altered by Bernardo Buontalenti when it was executed in the early 17th century. #medicichapel #capelladeiprincipi #chapeloftheprinces #firenze #medici #florence #interior #interiors #commessi #cosimodemedici #lorenzodemedici (at Medici Chapel) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFDQO-aF2Xl/?igshid=58on5s0g55dc
