Florence was the epicenter
of the Renaissance, that cultural explosion
that propelled Europe out of the Middle Ages
and into an economic, intellectual,
and artistic boom time.
This is the city where civic pride,
an abundance of genius, lots of wealth,
and a passion for merging art and science
ushered in an age of humanism.
In the space of a couple generations,
Florence gave us Brunelleschi's dome,
Leonardo's "Mona Lisa," and Michelangelo's "David."
This remarkable town,
with just 60,000 people in the 15th century,
would help lead Europe into the modern age.
You can't have an art boom without money,
and the Medici family,
who ruled Florence for generations
from palaces like this, was loaded.
It was the Medici wealth -- they were bankers --
along with their passion for art and super-sized egos
that helped Florence host the Renaissance,
making this city the art capital of the Western world.
The statues in their garden are a reminder that
it was in Florence that art was first commissioned
simply to be enjoyed by a wealthy elite.
With the Renaissance, you had art not just
to teach Bible stories or to glorify kings.
Now, rich people sponsored art just for art's sake.
The art-loving Medicis
hosted lots of famous artists, philosophers, and poets.
Imagine -- a teenage Michelangelo
lived with them almost as an adopted son,
Leonardo da Vinci played the lute at their parties,
and Botticelli actually studied the classical statues
that dotted their gardens.
Today, the plush world of the Medici
is on display in their palaces.
This lavishly frescoed family chapel
takes you back to Florence -- at least the Florence
of its aristocratic class -- in the 1400s.
The walls around the altar display
"The Journey of the Magi," or three kings,
on their way to Bethlehem, by Benozzo Gozzoli.
Showing no shortage of ego, a Medici prince portrays himself
as one of the three kings.
This is an idealized image of Lorenzo the Magnificent
leading a parade of Florentines through a rocky landscape.
Rather than the Holy Land,
the scene is set in 15th-century Tuscany.
Behind the king are other family members
along with the city's rich and powerful of the day.
These elegant Florentine dandies
are actually realistic portraits,
showing the leading characters of Florence around 1450.
They're wearing colorful clothes
that set trends throughout Europe.
The chapel doubled as the place the Medici
received important guests, and by portraying their family
in this religious setting, the Medici made
an impressive display of power and sophistication.
When potential rivals would drop by and see this,
they could only think, "Damn, those Medici are good."
Powerful as they were, the Medici were mortal
like everyone else
and eventually ended up down the street at San Lorenzo
in a grander Medici chapel
which served as the family tomb.
Designed by Michelangelo at the height of
his creative powers, this richly decorated room,
created completely under one artist's control,
is an innovative ensemble of architecture,
tombs, and sculpture.
Michelangelo, who personally knew
three of the four family members buried here,
was emotionally attached to the project.
This is the work of a middle-aged man
reflecting on his contemporaries dying all around him,
and, it seems to me, reflecting on the tension
between humanism, salvation, and his own mortality.
The room is strikingly empty of Christian iconography.
Lorenzo II is shown as a Roman general, seated,
arm resting on a Medici money box,
and bowing his head in contemplation.
His sarcophagus bears two reclining statues,
metaphors for birth and death.
"Dusk," worn out after a long day, slumps his chin on his chest
and reflects on the day's events.
"Dawn" stirs restlessly after a long night
as though waking from a dream.
Opposite, on the tomb of Lorenzo's brother, Giuliano,
Michelangelo portrays "Night" and "Day."
The woman representing night looks almost masculine,
reflecting Michelangelo's passion for capturing
the musculature of the human body.
The man, representing day, struggles to be comfortable,
each limb twisting in a different direction.
These statues represent the swift passage of time,
which eventually overtakes everyone,
even the most powerful.
"Day," "Night," "Dawn," and "Dusk,"
brought to life in this room by the greatest sculptor
of the Renaissance, meditate eternally on death.