The Museum of Palazzo Medici Riccardi has expanded its site in the light of excavations in the age-old subterranean. Promoted by the Città Metropolitana di Firenze, the dig resulted in the restoration of the basements beneath Michelozzo’s courtyard and the opening of new museum space.
Museum of Palazzo Medici Riccardi
The archaeological campaign has enabled historians to define 2,000 years of life on the Palazzo’s site: from the pre-foundation of Roman Florentia to the present day. Masonry, flooring, wells and steps were among the findings from the different eras. An eight-metre-wide section of the Mugnone riverbed proved one of the most interesting discoveries, which revealed cooking jars, glass objects and bronze tools. Human remains dating to between the fifth and seventh century were unearthed near to the palace’s foundation stones. Two stone wells measuring six metres deep derive from when the building was known as the Palazzo dei Medici. Visitors can see the changes made to the basement by the Riccardi family, when they acquired the building in 1659.
A visit to Palazzo Medici Riccardi includes the Marbles Museum on the ground floor, which showcases a collection of classical sculptures that belonged to the Riccardi family, and Filippo Lippi’s Madonna and Child, the mirrored Luca Giordano Gallery and the unforgettable Magi Chapel frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli on the first floor.
Tickets also include access to the exhibitions Heroes – Bowie by Sukita, in which the pop icon is caught on camera by Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita, and Tribute to Caterina, marking the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Medici queen of France.
The Luca Giordano Gallery
Palazzo Medici Riccardi Museum
Via Camillo Cavour 1, Florence
Open daily 9am-7pm, closed Wednesday
Tickets: 10 euro (museum+exhibition); tours 4 euro
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www.cittametropolitana.fi.it
