Monument to Michelangelo

The tribute paid to Michelangelo by the Florentines reached its highpoint in the funerary monument built to him in the Franciscan basilica of Santa Croce. It placed a moral seal upon his greatness.

Following the solemn funeral of Michelangelo held in the church of San Lorenzo on 14 July 1564, Vasari began his project for the structure of the monument starting, in part, with the catafalque designed with Agnolo Bronzino and Benvenuto Cellini. Vasari’s plan called for a crowning ornament featuring a marble statue entitled Architecture by Giovanni Bandini, called dell’Opera (1540-1599), an artist, like Michelangelo, from Caprese, who had already made a model of the statue destined for the sculptor’s catafalque. The elaborate allegorical decoration for the project was drawn up by Vincenzo Borghini and included contributions by Battista Lorenzi, who sculpted the statue of Painting and the bust of Michelangelo, and Valerio Cioli the statue of Sculpture. The marble personification of Architecture was made by Giovanni Bandini.