FLORENCE: A former coal cellar where the renowned Renaissance artist Michelangelo is thought to have hidden to evade a furious pope will open to the public on Nov 15, a museum in Florence said.
Michelangelo’s “secret room” lies within the Museum of the Medici Chapels and houses charcoal sketches depicting human figures which have been attributed to the artist, who is said to have taken refuge there in 1530.
The small room, 10 metres in length, three metres in width and 2-1/2 metres in height at the top of the vault, was used to store coal at one point before it was rediscovered during renovation work in 1975.
Paolo Dal Poggetto, then-director of the Museum of the Medici Chapels, accredited many of the drawings found on the walls to Michelangelo, although others have since disputed this.
Dal Poggetto surmised that the artist took shelter in the room following a falling foul of Pope Clement VII.
Small guided groups of four people will be able to visit the room from Nov 15 for a maximum of fifteen minutes. Tickets will be priced at 20 euros ($21.20) per person, on top of the 10 euros charged for entry to the main museum.
“The limited number of visitors per time slot is due to the need to alternate periods of exposure to LED light with extended periods of darkness,” the museum said.
The room is accessed via a cramped and narrow stairway and the number of weekly visitors will be limited to 100 individuals.
