Medici Landmarks Walking Tour (Self Guided), Florence

The Medici family helped to establish Florence as the single most important art capital of Renaissance Europe. In order to prove wealth and power, they built numerous palaces, libraries, churches, chapels and personal residences. The Medicis were big lovers of art and they acquired huge, expensive collections, as well as supporting many sculptors and painters of the time.

Designed by Michelozzo to accommodate the family’s banking business, Palazzo Medici Riccardi gives a great insight into the Medici way of life. Already in the 15th century, it included a private garden, protected from the town streets by a medieval wall. The historic building houses one of the most beautiful frescoes in the history of art – Cappella dei Magi, by Benozzo Gozzoli, located in a private family chapel which justifies travelling to Florence all by itself!

When the court of Medici was transferred to Palazzo Vecchio (from Palazzo Medici-Riccardi), it was transformed into a fascinating labyrinth of institutional chambers, apartments, terraces and courtyards. All of the rooms are magnificently decorated by artists such as Michelangelo, Giorgio Vasari and Donatello.

Continue with a visit to the Palazzo Pitti, which became home to the Medicis’ art collection, and Forte di Belvedere, later built to protect it. Both of these were, in fact, connected to the Palazzo Vecchio via a secret corridor visible on the Arno bridge (Ponte Vecchio).

Still more history can be witnessed at the Basilica San Lorenzo – the first Florentine church built in a new, Renaissance style; a model for later construction. Later upgrades, such as the New Sacristy and Medici-Laurenziana Library, were designed by the ever-ingenious Michelangelo. Here you will find the resting place of Giovanni de' Bicci di Medici – founder of the Medici bank and, hence, the family's subsequent fortunes – who is buried along with his grandsons in a tomb by Verrocchio.

Most, if not all, the history of Renaissance Florence can be understood by visiting these Medici landmarks/residences and their amazing collections/decorations – so follow our self-guided walk to see the opulent lives of the Medici family that helped usher the world into a new era.