Medici Chapels: Skip The Line Ticket

The two Medici Chapels, in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, are an incredibly lavish mausoleum and a key site on the Florence Renaissance trail. After all, they not only contain three beautiful Michelangelo sculptures, they're also the final resting place for 49 members of the powerful Medici clan. Skip the lines and get into this spectacular Renaissance church.

The Medici Chapels (Cappelle medicee) are two unmissable structures at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, dating back to the 16th and 17th century. Thanks to Michelangelo's magic hands this mausoleum for the Medici family members (patrons of the Renaissance and Grand Dukes of Tuscany) has become a pilgrimage spot for art lovers.

Once inside, you'll be welcomed by a statue of Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, the last member of the family. She is the one who bequeathed the entire Medici family collection of art to Florence, including Michelangelo's sculptures. Her only condition was that it would always be available for the public to enjoy. Something we're all grateful for to this day.

Highlights here include Michelangelo's Sagrestia Nuova, the great artist's first efforts at architecture. Its innovative approach suggests later bold moves he would make when working on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The three sculpture groups on the tombs are: Dawn and Dusk on the sarcophagus of Lorenzo il Magnifico; the Night and Day on the sarcophagus of Lorenzo's son Giuliano; and the unfinished altarpiece of Madonna and Child.