San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels
The Medici parish church complex — Michelangelo's New Sacristy tombs and the opulent Chapel of Princes.
The call
Worth it if you're watching the budget and you only have one day.
Short answer
Is San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels worth it?
San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels deserves a place on most first itineraries.
The answer depends on your budget, time and travel style; the breakdown below shows who gets the most value.
Why
- 01
The New Sacristy is the reason, and it's haunting in a specific way: Michelangelo designed the whole room — walls, light, tombs — as one composition, and the four allegories of Day, Night, Dawn and Dusk sprawl half-awake over the Medici sarcophagi, muscular and melancholic, as if mourning is a physical weight.
- 02
Night, the woman with the owl and mask beneath her, is one of the most copied figures in Western art.
Is it a fit?
Go if
You're watching the budget
San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels earns the spend, even on a tight budget.
You only have one day
Short trip or not, keep San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels.
You're traveling as a couple
As a couple, San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels is an easy yes.
You're traveling solo
Solo, San Lorenzo & Medici Chapels is an easy yes.
Plan it well
- Cost
- Medici Chapels €9; basilica €9 separately
- Timing
- Morning, before the leather-market crowds thicken around the complex.
- Booking
- Note the basilica, library and chapels need separate tickets — plan which you'll pay for.
- Allow
- 1.5–2 hours for both
- Accessibility
- Medici Chapels are largely step-free; the Laurentian Library has stairs.