Museo de' Medici

About the museum

The museum devoted to the history of the Medici dynasty was founded in 2019 to mark the 500th anniversary of the births of Cosimo I and Caterina de’ Medici. After a first location in Palazzo Sforza Almeni, in 2023 it found its permanent home in the Rotonda del Brunelleschi and in the spaces of the former monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The new display was opened on 3 October 2023. The museum is ideally linked to the Museo Mediceo, established in 1939 in Palazzo Medici Riccardi and destroyed by the flood of 1966.

The Rotonda, begun by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1432, was suspended in 1437 and remained unfinished for five centuries; it is regarded as the first centrally planned building of the Renaissance. The former monastery was a centre of Florentine humanism, linked to Cosimo il Vecchio and to the prior Ambrogio Traversari, and artists such as Lorenzo Monaco and Beato Angelico worked there. The route also includes the former conventual church (Salone IV Novembre), the refectory with the fresco by Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio and the Chiostro degli Angeli.

The collections do not focus on the history of art but on the public image of the family: paintings, sculptures, medals and polychrome wax works document the visual language of Medici power, with works by court artists such as Bronzino, Justus Suttermans and Giovan Battista Foggini. A section devoted to the history of Medici theatre presents twelve models of theatre venues designed by Ludovico Zorzi. Since December 2025 the museum also includes a library of more than 12,000 volumes, among them incunabula and books printed in the 16th century.

Highlights

• Rotonda del Brunelleschi, the first centrally planned building of the Renaissance
• Portraits, medals and polychrome wax works of the Medici
• Section on Medici theatre with the models of Ludovico Zorzi
• Refectory and Chiostro degli Angeli of the former monastery
• Museum library with more than 12,000 volumes

Permanent exhibitions

• Ritratti medicei e testimonianze storiche – Paintings, sculptures, medals and polychrome wax works documenting the public image of the Medici, with works by court artists such as Bronzino, Suttermans and Foggini.
• La storia del teatro mediceo – Twelve models of theatre venues, from sacred plays to Buontalenti’s Teatro degli Uffizi and the Anfiteatro di Boboli, with original editions from the museum’s library.

Founded

2019

Operated by

Museo de' Medici (ente culturale senza fini di lucro)

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for residents of the municipality of Florence, licensed guides and institutional ICOM members; free admission applies only to individual visits, not to events or guided tours.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

For institutional events, conferences, concerts and lectures, the Rotonda del Brunelleschi, the former church of the Angeli (Salone IV Novembre), the refectory and the Chiostro degli Angeli are available.

Plan your visit