Florence chapel to allow visitors inside ‘secret room’ filled with Michelangelo’s works

The famous Medici Chapel of Florence will finally be allowing four visitors at a time to enter the long-hidden secret room in the Chapel which is said to have charcoal drawings on its walls, some of which have been attributed to Michelangelo.

The secret room, which is 10-by-3 metres (33-by-10 feet) in size, was first found in 1975 when officials started searching for the Medici Chapel’s new exit to accommodate increasing visitors.

The then-director of the museum Paolo Dal Poggetto “firmly believed that they were by Michelangelo,’’ stated Paola D’Agostino, the current director. The paintings of Michelangelo have been under fierce debate which continues to this day.

“The major scholars of Michelangelo’s drawings dismissed the attributions” at the time it was discovered 50 years ago, she stated. “Others had a more moderate view, in the sense they thought that some could be by Michelangelo and others could be by followers. So the debate is ongoing,” she added.

Till 1955, the room was used for storing coal after which it was sealed and forgotten for years underneath a trapdoor, which remained hidden by furniture. The drawings on the walls were also discovered under two layers of plaster.

As per the theory proposed by Dal Poggetto, Michelangelo had hidden in the tiny space from “the wrath of Pope Clement VII” after he had supported a short-lived republic which overthrew the Medicis. In the room, the artists had sketched studies for a few of his projects.

The artwork on the wall includes sketches which are said to be the legs of Giuliano de’ Medici, which is near the entrance of the secret room. For the last 50 years, the room’s access has remained restricted.

It was decided by the officials that the room would be opened to the public on a limited basis, and the works would be placed in extended periods of darkness after long exposure to LED lights for protection.

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The secret room will be opened from November 15 and 100 visitors will get access every week through reservation, four at a time. The visitors will get to spend a maximum of 15 minutes inside the room.

“This place grants today’s visitors the unique experience of being able to come into direct contact not only with the creative process of the maestro, but also with the perception of the formation of his myth as a divine artist,” stated Francesca de Luca, curator of the Museum of the Medici Chapels, in a statement.

Meanwhile, Agostino said that restoration has been “time-consuming, constant and painstaking work.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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