Jasper, porphyry, lapis lazuli, coral and mother of pearl: the chapel behind these walls is lined from floor to vault in , every piece cut to shape and fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.
You'd never guess it from outside, where you see a heavy round mass behind the church, topped by a dome that wants to rival the city's cathedral. This is the stop you need a ticket for.
The dukes set up their own stone-cutting workshop for the job. It began in 1604 and only reached its end in the twentieth century. You'll rarely find a building with so much wealth hanging literally on the walls.
One door along is the , where designed two tombs with four figures for the times of day. Day and Night, Dawn and Dusk lie there as if they're just waking or sinking away, above men who amounted to little in real life.
In the crypt below rests , the last of the . She kept this work going with her own money, and what else she arranged for the city you'll hear at the final stop of this walk.
Heading back past the church, on the south side there's a gate to a quiet courtyard with a staircase leading up.
Sources. Story: Musei del Bargello (Cappelle Medicee, Cappella dei Principi e Sagrestia Nuova); Treccani (Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici) Photos: Cappella dei Principi, Cappelle Medicee, via Wikimedia Commons, photo Francesco Bini, CC BY-SA 4.0
