Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana

The Laurentian Library, designed by Michelangelo for the Medici, is a landmark of Renaissance architecture beside San Lorenzo in Florence.

Why it matters

Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to provide a home for the Medici manuscript collection. The project gave the architect scope to experiment with classical forms, especially in the dramatic vestibule and cascading staircase. The reading room preserves much of its sixteenth-century design.

What to notice

Columns appear sunk into the vestibule's wall niches, and Ammannati's stone staircase follows Michelangelo's model. The reading room holds rows of wooden plutei designed by Michelangelo, where manuscripts were read in place. Giovan Battista del Tasso carved the limewood ceiling; Vasari's stained-glass windows carry Medici arms, and the floor uses red-and-white terracotta. Pasquale Poccianti designed the nineteenth-century Tribuna dell'Elci.

Context and history

Michelangelo directed work from 1523 until his move to Rome in 1534. Giorgio Vasari and Bartolomeo Ammannati completed the building to his drawings, and it opened in 1571. Its manuscripts reflect Medici interest in Greek and Latin learning. The Opera Medicea Laurenziana was established by royal decree in 1907 to safeguard the monument.