Tour Details
Duration
3.5 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
- Medici Chapels
- Museum of San Marco
- Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
- Magi Chapel
Photos & Highlights
- Experience Florence through the eyes of the Medici family
- Led by an expert art or social historian
Select a date
Tour Description
The name Medici immediately brings up images of power, intrigue, and artistic flourishing during the Renaissance.
During this Medici tour in Florence, led by an art or social historian, we'll follow along in the footsteps of the Medicis, visiting several key sites that the family has owned or sponsored, tracing their history from the republic to the duchy, from wealthy merchants to rulers of a kingdom.
We begin from the roots of the Medici family history, with Cosimo the Elder in the 1430s, visiting the quiet Convent of San Marco - the first example of the Medici’s great patronage of the arts and one of the first public libraries in the world. Proceeding with a visit to the museum, which hosts the greatest works of Fra Angelico, we will see the monks' former private cells, including the cell made specifically for Cosimo's own meditation.
From there, we will proceed to the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, the seat of Medici power in Florence for over a century, and make a special visit to the Chapel of the Magi, decorated by Benozzo Gozzoli, considered a Renaissance fresco masterpiece.
To conclude the tour, we will reach San Lorenzo Square, home to the iconic unfinished church, and enter the Medici Chapels to explore the pinnacle of the Medicis' art patronage and view the work of Michelangelo in the family’s chapel he designed, featuring the tombs of Lorenzo il Magnifico and his brother Giuliano.
This walk will provide you with a deep understanding of the Medici family's connection to the city of Florence and how the relationship between political power and art has played such an important role in the formation of Florence as we know it today.
Experts
- You have been to Florence, or you are a first-time visitor and want to better understand the connection between the past and the present of the city
- You are intrigued about the Medici family's past.
- You want to venture off the beaten path with a thorough exploration of the less-traveled routes.
- Church and Museum of San Marco
- Palazzo Medici Riccardi
- Magi Chapel
- Medici Chapel
Tickets
You are pre-paid for the tour and the entrance tickets.
Additional Trip-Planning Resources
- For more information on planning your travels to Florence, take a read through our Context Stories.
Do you reserve headsets for this tour?
Depending on your group size, we may be required by the venue to order headsets, in which case you’ll see a “Headset Fee” added to your order.
Is this tour wheelchair-friendly?
This tour can be adapted for clients with mobility difficulties or who use wheelchairs, with the only exception being the Magi Chapel.
Book with confidence — see Context's flexible cancellation policy here.
Where You'll Start
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282 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
Alessandra met us at Piazza San Marco where we started our tour. We talked at length there and then headed to the Medici palace and ended up at the Medici chapel. She was incredibly patient and super responsive to our questions - at one point we sat down and had a really deep discussion around the politics and religion at the time of the Médicis and she had so much interesting information to share - a great tour with a fantastic guide. We’d love to do it again!!
Philippe
Reviewed on:
Aug 17, 2024
The focus on the Medici and some venues that are not "top 10 sites in Florence" was really special. It kept us away from the mobs and gave us more context (ha!) to understand the history of Florence and its powerful first family.
Jennifer
Reviewed on:
Jul 16, 2024
Helen Bayley was so good. She tells the stories of the complex Medici past (San Marcos tour). While we loved our Uffizi tour with Sandro, this venue in it's way was maybe even more interesting and a bit off the beaten path.
Scott
Reviewed on:
Jul 1, 2024
