San Marco Museum 'Skip the line'

The Florentine Museum of San Marco occupies the oldest part of an ancient Dominican monastery. In 1437 Cosimo il Vecchio de’ Medici decided to rebuild the entire complex, at the suggestion of Antonino Pierozzi the Vicar-General. The work was entrusted to Michelozzo and the monastery erected between 1437 and 1452. The museums hosts the largest collection in the world of the works of Fra Angelico (Beato Angelico), who lived here for several years. The museum has a very beautiful Last Supper frescoed by Ghirlandaio, at the end of the fifteenth century, and in its library a fine series of illuminated manuscripts.

One of the highlights of the museum is the Annunciation fresco on top of the staircase leading to the dormitories, a symbol of purity, obedience, and faith. Very impacting is the Library Hall, also commissioned to Michelozzo and considered one of the best examples of Renaissance interiors, with its arcades supported by narrow pillars with Ionic capitals.

Piazza San Marco - Firenze.