Visit the Secret Chamber Where Michelangelo Sketched

Michelangelo kept himself busy while hiding from the powerful Medici family in 1530. After supporting a revolt against their rule, the Renaissance master descended beneath the Medici Chapels in Florence’s Basilica di San Lorenzo to a secret chamber where he bided his time for two months by making charcoal and chalk sketches across the walls.

Beginning in 2020, this spectacular room will be open to the public, according to Travel + Leisure.

“We’re working on making the secret room of Michelangelo accessible,” Paola D’Agostino, the director of the Bargello Museum, told the Telegraph.“There’s a plan under way to make the space safe for visitors. There’s a great deal to do.”

The stunning sketches weren’t discovered until 1975, when the then-director of the Medici Chapels museum happened upon them during a search for a new exit route for visitors. 

This picture taken on June 10, 2013 shows drawings by renaissance master Michelangelo in the secret room under the new sacristy of the Medici chapel in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence.(AFP PHOTO/Claudio Giovanni/Getty)

This picture taken on June 10, 2013 shows drawings by renaissance master Michelangelo in the secret room under the new sacristy of the Medici chapel in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence. (AFP PHOTO/Claudio Giovanni/Getty)

AFP/Getty Images

This picture taken on June 10, 2013 shows drawings by renaissance master Michelangelo in the secret room under the new sacristy of the Medici chapel in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence.(AFP PHOTO/Claudio Giovanni/Getty)

AFP/Getty Images

This picture taken on June 10, 2013 shows drawings by renaissance master Michelangelo in the secret room under the new sacristy of the Medici chapel in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence. (AFP PHOTO/Claudio Giovanni/Getty)

AFP/Getty Images

This picture taken on June 10, 2013 shows drawings by renaissance master Michelangelo in the secret room under the new sacristy of the Medici chapel in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence.(AFP PHOTO/Claudio Giovanni/Getty)

AFP/Getty Images

This picture taken on June 10, 2013 shows drawings by renaissance master Michelangelo in the secret room under the new sacristy of the Medici chapel in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence. (AFP PHOTO/Claudio Giovanni/Getty)

AFP/Getty Images

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