On its walls there are drawings that were hidden from the world for four centuries and that are partly attributed to the Renaissance genius Michelangelo.
But finally, this narrow room hidden beneath the Medici Chapels in Florence, Italy, will open its doors to the public for the first time on November 15.
The sketches were discovered in 1975 by Paolo Dal Pogetto, then director of the Medici Chapels, beneath plaster walls in a room that was often used to store charcoal.
Dal Pogetto found the room after discovering a hidden trapdoor under a closet, while looking for a place to make an alternative exit from the museum. Access to the room is a narrow staircase.
The drawings are made with charcoal and chalk. According to experts, they recall some of the artist’s recognized works, such as David and the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
“He drew things from the past as if he were taking a trip through his memory… it was like having an album of his works,” Paola D’Agostino, director of the Bargello Museums, to which the Medici Chapels belong, told the press. .
D’Agostino added that the drawings are in “remarkably good” condition and that “nothing like it exists in the world of 16th-century drawings.”
The vault, 10 meters long, 3 meters wide and 2.5 meters high, had remained closed to the public to avoid damage to the drawings.
But after some renovations, the room will receive, from its next opening, no more than 100 visitors each week.
D’Agostino, the director of the Bargello Museums, explained that, due to the size of the vault and to protect the drawings, no more than 4 people will enter at a time.
The visits will last a maximum of 15 minutes and will alternate with periods of 45 minutes of darkness. Tickets will cost 20 euros per person, in addition to the museum entrance fee.
It is believed that Michelangelo created some of these drawings in 1530, while he was hiding to evade a death sentence ordered by Pope Clement VII, who was part of the Medici family.
The Medici were the richest family in Florence and the de facto rulers of the city. They were also one of Michelangelo’s main patrons.
In 1527, the powerful family was expelled from the city and a republic was established there, with which Michelangelo collaborated.
Therefore, when the family returned to Florence and regained control, the artist had become their enemy and had to disappear from the map for a couple of months to avoid being killed.
It was probably at that time that he made the drawings in the hidden room.
The authorship of the drawings has, however, been very controversial.
Some believe it is unlikely that Michelangelo spent months at the height of his career in such a gloomy refuge.
The museum director points out, however, that “most scholars agree that there is certainly Michelangelo’s hand in some of these drawings.”
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