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Monumental route through the Medici library in Florence, with Michelangelo's vestibule and staircase and the historic reading room.
October 9, 2026 – January 9, 2027
The exhibition is devoted to Florence in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, open to the world, and to the life of the Florentine merchant and traveller Francesco Carletti.
The Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana grew out of the manuscript collection of Cosimo the Elder, enlarged by Lorenzo the Magnificent. The idea of a public library took shape with Giulio de' Medici, the future Pope Clement VII, and the library was opened to scholars in 1571. It is located in the San Lorenzo complex, beside the Chiostro dei Canonici built by Antonio Manetti Ciaccheri between 1457 and 1460.
The monumental sector is linked to the name of Michelangelo, who designed the vestibule from 1524: walls articulated in three orders, with recessed paired columns, scroll brackets and aedicule windows. The staircase in pietra serena (grey sandstone) was built by Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1559 to a design by Michelangelo, who had conceived it in walnut, with a tripartite form and a central flight of elliptical steps.
The reading room extends horizontally and is divided by two rows of plutei (the book stands in which the codices were kept), possibly carved from designs by Michelangelo. The limewood ceiling dates from 1549–1550, and the red and white terracotta floor was designed by Tribolo. The stained-glass windows, with Medici heraldic motifs, were made last. The Tribuna d'Elci, built at the beginning of the nineteenth century to a design by Pasquale Poccianti to house the collection donated by Angelo Maria D'Elci, is now used for meetings and inaugurations.
| Adults | €5 |
|---|---|
| Ticket during the temporary exhibition (9 October 2026 – 9 January 2027) | €7Can be bought online via Vivaticket. |
| Guided tour | €9No free admission. |
Free admission for the categories provided for by the Ministero della Cultura (Ministry of Culture) for state museums (art. 3 of Ministerial Decree DM 507/1997); no free admission for guided tours.
The study room is accessible by stairlift; the website gives no further information on lifts or architectural barriers.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
From Stazione di Santa Maria Novella the library is a 5–10-minute walk.
The area is closed to private traffic. From the Aeroporto di Firenze Amerigo Vespucci it takes about 20 minutes by taxi or by the T2 tram.
Get directionsThe museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Guided tours by booking, by writing to prenotazionibml@florenservice.it, during opening hours and on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 14:00 to 16:00, for groups of up to 25 people. Booking is compulsory for school groups and for groups of more than 10 people. The entrance is through the door to the left of the portal of the San Lorenzo basilica. |
