Citiwalks: Walk in Michelangelo's Florence

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The walk described below was extracted from a suggested itinerary entitled "Michelangelo in Florence" published by Firenze Giubileo 2000. Allow two hours (with no stops).

This itinerary takes in the major Florentine works of Michelangelo, and begins in [1] Piazza San Marco opposite the former Medici gardens, where he served his apprenticeship as a sculptor. We then proceed to the [2] Galleria dell'Accademia [Via Ricasoli, 58-60] where we find the original marble David (1501-04), transferred here from Piazza della Signoria, and a number of unfinished works: the St Matthew, the four Prisoners, and the late Palestrina Pietà. Turn right into Via Degli Alfani, then left into Via Camillo Cavour to [3] Palazzo Medici [Via Camillo Cavour, 1] where Michelangelo altered the loggia by closing it and adding "kneeling windows". Next turn right into Via de Gori and on your left is the [4] Basilica of San Lorenzo. The church's unfinished façade may well be one of Michelangelo's masterpieces (see the wooden model in the [10] Casa Buonarroti, below). Climbing Michelangelo's famous staircase in the cloister we reach the Biblioteca Laurenziana, built for Pope Clement VII, and one of Michelangelo's finest architectural works. Nearby is the vast complex of the [5] Cappelle Medicee (Medici Chapels) [Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6]. Here, you may visit the New Sacristy with its world famous Medici Tombs. Also here are the marble sculptures of the Madonna and Child, Giuliano Duke of Nemours, Lorenzo Duke of Urbino, and the four allegorical statues of Dawn and Dusk, Night and Day.
Leaving the Museum, proceed along Via de Conti to the [6] Museo dell'Opera del Duomo [Piazza Duomo]. Here you may admire the Pietà with its famous self-portrait, sculpted in Rome in about 1550.
Important drawings by Michelangelo, and his only Florentine painting, the Doni Tondo, are to be found in the [7] The Uffizi Gallery [Piazzale degli Uffizi]. Next door, in the [8] Palazzo Vecchio in the Room of the Five Hundred, we find the unfinished marble "Victory". Follow the trail via the Piazza de San Firenze, to the [9] Bargello Museum which has youthful pieces such as the Bacchus and the Pitti Tondo. Continue along Via Ghibellina to [10] Casa Buonarroti [Via Ghibellina 70], where we find drawings, youthful works and portraits of the artist. The walk ends with a visit to [11] Santa Croce where Michelangelo's tomb, by Giorgio Vasari, lies.