The first stone of the Duomo’s facade was laid on September 8, 1296 but the decoration you see here dates to 1871-87! For something older, turn around: the Baptistry is 11th century ;-)
The “old bridge” once housed butchers, but the Medici, who had Vasari build his famous corridor above it, complained of the smell and installed goldsmiths here.
Michelangelo lived here for 5 years, until Lorenzo The Magnificent’s death. Inside there's "The Genius of Victory”. Find Michelangelo in Florence: http://bit.ly/1kAVjq5
Commissioned by Pope Leo X to reconstruct the façade, Michelangelo spent 3 years creating drawings and models. The project was then abruptly canceled and today the Basilica is still without a façade.
After the project for the new façade of San Lorenzo, the Medici asked Michelangelo to create their family funerary chapels in the Basilica. He worked on this project for much of the 1520s and 1530s.
Once the home of Michelangelo, it is today a small museum containing several sculptures and drawings, including 2 of his early relief sculptures: the “Battle of the Centaurs”, “Madonna of the Stairs“.
Michelangelo died in Rome at the age of 88, but his body was brought back to Florence to be buried inside the Basilica of Santa Croce. It was his last request.
