The Museo de Medici at Via degli Alfani 39 in Florence occupies the Rotonda Brunelleschi — the 15th-century octagonal building at the corner of Via del Castellaccio, designed as the chapter house of the former Monastery of the Angels. The museum tells the history of the Medici dynasty through original paintings, sculptures, medals, manuscripts, and objects from private collections, many never previously on public display.
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This guide was updated in June 2026. The full price is €10 — this is the private museum specifically dedicated to Medici history. It is a different institution from the Medici Chapels (Cappelle Medicee, Via del Proconsolo) and from Palazzo Medici Riccardi (Via Cavour) — confusion between these three is common. You can book through GetYourGuide in advance.
Quick facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | Rotonda Brunelleschi, Via degli Alfani 39, 50121 Florence, Italy. |
| Hours | Every day, 10:00–18:00 |
| Closed | No regular closure day — open every day including Mondays |
| Full price | €10 |
| Reduced (under 18; university students; ICOM individual members; disability companions) | €5 |
| Free | Florence residents (individual visits only); under 7; people with disabilities; licensed guides; ICOM institutional members |
| Nearest bus stop | Multiple ATAF lines to Via degli Alfani / Via Ricasoli |
| Distance from Accademia | 4-minute walk south |
| Distance from Duomo | 8-minute walk north-east |
| Typical visit | 45–75 minutes |
Museo de Medici opening hours
The museum is open every day of the year, 10:00 to 18:00. This is one of its most practical advantages over many Florentine museums: it opens on Mondays and does not observe standard Italian public holiday closures in the same way state museums do. Confirm for 25 December and 1 January by contacting the museum directly before planning a holiday visit.
Museo de Medici admission prices
The full admission is €10, with a reduced price of €5 for under-18s, university students, individual ICOM members, and companions of visitors with disabilities. Several booking platforms either omit pricing information or reference the museum without specific figures.
| Category | Price |
|---|---|
| Full price | €10 |
| Reduced (under 18; university students; disability companions; individual ICOM members) | €5 |
| Children under 7 | Free |
| Florence municipality residents (individual visits only) | Free |
| People with disabilities | Free |
| Licensed tour guides | Free |
| Institutional ICOM members | Free |
Free admission for Florence residents applies only to individual self-guided visits — it does not cover guided tour events or private experiences. Book through GetYourGuide to confirm your visit.
Why visit the Museo de Medici?
- 🏛️ The building itself is extraordinary: The Rotonda Brunelleschi is the chapter house of the former Monastery of the Angels — designed by Filippo Brunelleschi from 1434 and left unfinished at his death. The octagonal plan and soaring internal proportions make it one of the most remarkable early Renaissance spaces in Florence.
- 🎟️ Open every day including Mondays: The Museo dei Medici is one of the very few significant cultural attractions in Florence that opens on Mondays — a practical advantage when major museums (Uffizi, Bargello, Accademia) are closed.
- 🌿 Private collections never previously on public display: A significant portion of the museum’s holdings comes from prestigious private collections, assembled specifically for the museum on the occasion of the 500th anniversaries of Cosimo I and Caterina de’ Medici.
- 📜 Private visits with the museum director: Samuele Lastrucci — art scholar, collector, and expert in Medici history — offers personal guided visits to the museum’s collections by prior arrangement. Contact [email protected] for availability.
- 💰 Free for Florence residents: Residents of the Florence municipality enter free for individual visits (excluding events and guided tours), making this one of the most accessible heritage sites in the city for local residents.
How to get to the Museo de Medici
On foot from the Accademia Gallery, the museum is a 4-minute walk south along Via Ricasoli, then left on Via degli Alfani to the corner of Via del Castellaccio. The Rotonda Brunelleschi is immediately visible at the junction.
On foot from the Duomo, head north-east along Via dei Servi and turn right on Via degli Alfani — approximately 8 minutes.
By bus (ATAF), several routes pass along Via Ricasoli and Via degli Alfani, both adjacent to the museum. The museum is easily walkable from anywhere in the historic centre in under 15 minutes.
By car, ZTL restrictions apply across the historic centre. The nearest practical car parks are at Piazza della Stazione (SMN) or Fortezza da Basso, both approximately 20 minutes on foot. Walking from central accommodation is more practical.
Parking at the Museo de Medici
There is no parking at the museum. The surrounding streets are ZTL-restricted. The nearest car parks outside the restricted zone are at Santa Maria Novella station and Fortezza da Basso. The museum is walkable from the Accademia, the Duomo, and the San Marco area in under 10 minutes.
How long to spend at the Museo de Medici
Allow 45 to 75 minutes for a self-guided visit through the permanent rooms. The museum is compact — thematic rooms with paintings, sculptures, medals, documents, and objects from the 15th to 18th centuries — and most visitors complete a thorough visit in around an hour. The museum also maintains a specialised library on Medici history accessible for research purposes.
Accessibility at the Museo de Medici
The museum is in a historic 15th-century building. For specific accessibility information — including lift or ramp availability — contact the museum directly at [email protected] or via WhatsApp (+39 055 709 8284) before visiting. People with disabilities enter free; companions of disabled visitors pay the reduced rate (€5).
What to see at the Museo de Medici
The Rotonda Brunelleschi itself is inseparable from the visit. The building was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi from 1434 as the chapter house for the monks of the Camaldolese Monastery of the Angels. Construction was halted in 1437 following the suspension of state funds for the project, and the building was left as a roofless shell for nearly four centuries before it was completed in the 20th century. The proportions of the interior, the thickness of the walls, and the octagonal plan anticipate the spatial experiments of the Pazzi Chapel and the Medici Chapels.
The permanent collection was assembled to document the full arc of Medici influence from the early 15th century to the extinction of the Grand Ducal line in 1737 and beyond. Works by Suttermans (court portraitist to the Medici from 1619), Bronzino, Ligozzi, Foggini, Stradano, and others illustrate different chapters of the dynasty’s history. Portraits of the principal figures — Cosimo il Vecchio, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Cosimo I, Caterina de’ Medici, and the later Grand Dukes — are distributed across the rooms with supporting documents and medals from the same periods.
The Naturalia et Mirabilia room covers the Medici’s engagement with natural philosophy and collecting — the wunderkammer tradition that preceded modern museums. Objects from the Medici natural history collections, alongside scientific instruments and exotic naturalia, illustrate the dynasty’s role in fostering both art and science across the 16th and 17th centuries.
Original documents and manuscripts from the Medici archives — some from private collections and appearing here for the first time in a public display — provide primary-source depth to the historical narrative across the rooms.
Practical tips for visiting the Museo de Medici
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| This is not Palazzo Medici Riccardi | Palazzo Medici Riccardi is on Via Cavour (Benozzo Gozzoli frescoes). The Medici Chapels are at Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini. The Museo dei Medici is at Via degli Alfani 39 in the Rotonda Brunelleschi — a separate institution entirely. |
| Open on Mondays | Unlike most major Florentine museums, the Museo dei Medici opens every day. If Monday is your only free day in Florence, this is one of your best cultural options. |
| Florence residents enter free | For individual (non-guided) visits only. Events and guided visits are excluded. Present valid ID at the entrance. |
| Book in advance | Walk-in admission is available, but advance booking confirms your visit and is useful during busy summer periods. |
Museo dei Medici FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is this the same as the Medici Chapels? | No. The Medici Chapels (Cappelle Medicee) are at Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini and are a state museum with Michelangelo’s sculptures. The Museo de Medici is a private museum at Via degli Alfani 39 in the Rotonda Brunelleschi. Two completely separate institutions. |
| What is the admission price? | €10 full price; €5 reduced (under 18, university students, disability companions, individual ICOM members). Florence residents enter free for individual visits. |
| Is it open on Mondays? | Yes — every day, 10:00–18:00. This distinguishes it from most major Florence museums which close on Mondays. |
| What is the building? | The Rotonda Brunelleschi — the former chapter house of the Monastery of the Angels, designed by Brunelleschi from 1434 and left unfinished until the 20th century. One of the earliest Renaissance buildings in Florence. |
Things to do near the Museo de Medici
The Galleria dell’Accademia is a 4-minute walk north on Via Ricasoli and houses Michelangelo’s David in the purpose-built tribune. For visitors combining the Medici museum with the Accademia on the same day, the walk is so short it requires no additional planning. See the dedicated guide.
The San Marco Museum (Museo di San Marco) is 5 minutes north and is the former Camaldolese and then Dominican convent where Fra Angelico painted a fresco in every monk’s cell (1438–1445). Directly connected in spirit to the Museo dei Medici — Cosimo il Vecchio funded San Marco and maintained a private cell there.
Piazza Santissima Annunziata is 3 minutes north-east — the most harmonious Renaissance piazza in Florence, designed by Brunelleschi. The Ospedale degli Innocenti (Europe’s first dedicated orphanage, 1419) is the principal surviving building of the same period as the Rotonda and by the same architect.
The Opificio delle Pietre Dure Museum is 2 minutes south on Via degli Alfani and covers the Medici grand-ducal hardstone workshop founded by Ferdinando I in 1588 — a direct institutional descendent of Medici patronage and one of the most undervisited museums in Florence. Free admission.
Palazzo Medici Riccardi is around 12 minutes south-west on Via Cavour and is the Medici family’s original city palace (1445–1490), now a separate museum with Benozzo Gozzoli’s Journey of the Magi fresco in the private chapel. A natural companion visit to the Museo dei Medici.
Similar Medici-related museums to visit near Florence
The Medici Chapels (Cappelle Medicee) is the state museum in the Basilica di San Lorenzo complex, housing Michelangelo’s four allegorical figures (Night, Day, Dawn, Dusk) in the New Sacristy built for the Medici Grand Dukes. Around 15 minutes west of the Museo dei Medici.
Villa Medicea di Cerreto Guidi is around 35 km west of Florence and is a Medici hunting villa with intact period rooms, garden terraces, and a museum of Medici portraits — one of the quietest Medici sites in Tuscany.
Villa La Petraia, Sesto Fiorentino is around 5 km north of Florence and is a Medici villa with a garden terrace and views over the city. The Flemish tapestries and Savoy-era furnishings provide a later complement to the earlier Medici material in the Via degli Alfani museum. Free admission.
The Uffizi Gallery is 20 minutes south-west and holds the Medici painting collection as it was hung in the Tribuna in the 16th century — the largest and most important surviving expression of Medici taste in art. The context provided by the Museo dei Medici makes the Uffizi collections significantly more legible.
More Tuscany travel
Other Tuscany travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Why a Pisa food tour is a great way to explore beyond the Tower.
- Plan your visit to Siena Cathedral.
- Why do hot air balloon flights in Tuscany leave so early?
- How long are the queues to see Michelangelo’s David?
- Florence attraction guides: Palazzo Vecchio, Medici Chapels, Uffizi Gallery, Museo Galileo, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens.
