The first port of
call will be to the Palazzo Medici, designed by Michelozzo and home to the most
powerful family in Florence and the first real example of a Renaissance
mansion. Just around the corner is the church of San Lorenzo and the Medici
Chapels. Leo X Medici conceived the idea of this self-glorifying monument to
the Medici dynasty, particularly his father, Lorenzo il Magnifico and
commissioned Michelangelo to design and sculpt the tombs. Continue to Casa
Buonarroti, one of several homes owned by Michelangelo and where he lived for
ten years. Today it houses an institute for study and research of the works of
Michelangelo, as well as the family archives. The permanent exhibition shows
marble statues and a wooden model of the San Lorenzo church.
