Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Located one block north of the Accademia, this 15th-century monastery houses the greatest
collectionanywhereoffrescoesandpaintingsbytheearlyRenaissancemasterFraAngelico.
The ground floor features the monk's paintings, along with some works by Fra Bartolomeo.
Upstairs are 43 cells decorated by Fra Angelico and his assistants. While the monk/painter
was trained in the medieval religious style, he also learned and adopted Renaissance tech-
niques and sensibilities, producing works that blended Christian symbols and Renaissance
realism.Don'tmissthecellofSavonarola,thecharismaticmonkwhorodeinfromtheChris-
tian right, threw out the ruling Medici family, turned Florence into a theocracy, sponsored
“bonfiresofthevanities” (burningbooks,paintings,andsoon),andwasfinallyburnedhim-
self when Florence decided to change channels.
Cost and Hours:
€4, covered by Firenze Card, Tue-Fri 8:15-13:50, Sat 8:15-16:50; also
open 8:15-13:50 on first, third, and fifth Mon and 8:15-16:50 on second and fourth Sun of
each month; last entry 30 minutes before closing, reservations possible but unnecessary, no
photos, on Piazza San Marco, tel. 055-238-8608,
www.polomuseale.firenze.it
.
This unusual gem of a museum features room after room of exquisite mosaics of inlaid
marble and other stones. The Medici loved colorful stone tabletops and floors; you'll even
find landscapes and portraits (find Cosimo I in Room I). Upstairs, you'll see wooden
work benches from a workshop funded by the art-patron Medici family (1588), complete
with foot-powered power tools. Rock-hounds can browse 500 different stones (lapis lazuli,
quartz,agate,marble,andsoon)andthetoolsusedtocutandinlaythem.BorrowtheEnglish
descriptions in each room.
Cost and Hours:
€4, covered by Firenze Card, Mon-Sat 8:15-14:00, closed Sun, last
entry 30 minutes before closing, around corner from Accademia at Via degli Alfani 78, tel.
055-265-1357.
This red-brick dome—which looks like the Duomo's little sister—marks the burial place of
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (1360-1429), founder of the influential Medici family. Part
Sopranos,
part Kennedys, part John-D-and-Catherine-T art patrons, the Medici dominated
Florentine politics for 300 years (c. 1434-1737). Immeasurably wealthy from their cloth,
silk, and banking businesses, the family rose to the ranks of Europe's nobility, producing
popes and queens.
