Cappella dei Principi

Chapel of the Princes

Cappella dei Principi
Mausoleum Chapel of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and their families
Established	1604 (1604)
Location	Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, Florence, Italy
Coordinates	43°46′30″N 11°15′11″E / 43.77500°N 11.25306°E / 43.77500; 11.25306
Type	Art, Architecture
Visitors	321,043
Director	Monica Bietti

Cappella dei Principi ("Chapel of the Princes" in

The Chapel was based on the idea that the Grand Duke

It has a large dome and marble interior. The octagonal room is 28 metres (92 ft) wide and is surmounted by the dome of San Lorenzo, which reaches a height of 59 metres (194 ft), the second most majestic in the city after Filippo Brunelleschi's dome^[1][3]

During the first half of the eighteenth century, Italian noblewoman Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, financed the construction of the large windows and cupola, and the internal decoration of the vault, which was executed by the painter Pietro Benvenuti between 1828 and 1837. The Chapel flooring of semiprecious stone inlay was only completed in 1962.^[4]

The octagonal room is almost entirely covered with stones and different-coloured marbles. The six

The sarcophagus are actually empty and the real remains of the Grand Dukes and their family members (about fifty major and minor) up to Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (last heir of the dynasty, 1667-1743), are kept in simple rooms created in the floor of the underlying crypt

From behind the altar there is access to a small room where other precious relics are displayed, some of which were donated to the city by Pope Leo X.

Early visits to the chapel

Dutch traveler Cornelis de Bruijn visited the chapel at December 12, 1674 AD. He writes, while describing his visit to Florence:

I also saw a very precious chapel that had been worked on for seventy-eight years, although it was far from being half-finished. This project was started by

Ferdinand the First, Duke of Florence. In this chapel, there is a cushion that would have cost thirty thousand crowns, adorned with precious gemstones and decorated with the most beautiful stones obtainable. I was shown a marble stone on which five masters had worked for seven years before it could be used. The altar boasts five heavy pillars of cristal de montagne (rock crystal).^[6]

This description was later ascribed to be a referral to the Cappella dei Principi. If the statement regarding 78 years of work is true, it could indicate work on the chapel started as early as 1596, when Ferdinand was around 47 years of age. This would also indicate that the already mentioned architect Matteo Nigetti was appointed 8 years after the initial work had started.

Gallery

• 
  Inlay of the coat of arms of Florence, from the chapel of the Princes
• 
  Chapel of the Princes Medici Chapels
• 
  Chapel of the Princes, early 17th century
• 
  Dome of Capelle Medicee (The Chapel of the Princes)
• 
  Dome Painting at the Cappella dei Principi
• 
  Statue and sarcophagus of Cosimo II de' Medici

See also

• List of rulers of Tuscany
• Medici Chapels
• Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence

References

External links

• Media related to Cappella dei Principi at Wikimedia Commons