ARTS & CULTURE

Michelangelo's 'Secret Room' to Open for

Visitors
November 03, 2023

Delicate charcoal drawings that some experts have attributed to Michelangelo are seen on
the walls of a room used to store coal until 1955 inside Florence's Medici Chapel, in central
Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (Francesco Fanfani via AP, HO)

Michelangelo's 'Secret Room' to Open for Visitors 

by VOA - Voice of America English News

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Visitors will soon be able to see a long-hidden space inside the Medici Chapel in the
Italian city of Florence. The walls of the small space contain drawings that some experts
believe may have been created by the famous artist Michelangelo.

The secret room is small – 10 meters by 3 meters. Officials discovered the room in 1975
when searching for a way to make a new exit from Medici Chapel.

The museum’s then-director Paolo Dal Poggetto strongly believed that the drawings were
by Michelangelo, said the current director, Paola D’Agostino. A debate over the issue
began then and continues to this day.
D’Agostino suggested that experts of Michelangelo’s drawings did not believe he created
the works at the time of their discovery 50 years ago. She added, “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.”

The room was used to store coal until 1955. Then it was closed and forgotten for years
below a special kind of opening known as a trapdoor. The trapdoor was hidden beneath
furniture. The drawings themselves were discovered under two layers of plaster – a
substance used to make walls and ceilings smooth.

The trapdoor leading to a room with delicate charcoal drawings on the walls that some
experts have attributed to Michelangelo is seen inside Florence's Medici Chapel, in central
Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Luigi Navarra)

Dal Poggetto believed Michelangelo hid in the space to escape the anger of Pope Clement
VII. The artist had supported a short-lived republic that overthrew the Medicis.

In the room, the artist drew for some of his projects. They include drawings believed to
be the legs of Giuliano de’ Medici.

Starting on November 15, small groups of four people will be able to visit the room for
about 15 minutes. Visitors will have to pay an additional $20 on top of the $10 charged
for entry to the main museum.

The museum said it limits the number of visitors because of the need to reduce
exposure of the artworks to light. At most, 100 visitors will be able to go to the room
each week.

I’m John Russell.

John Russell adapted this story from AP and Reuters reports.

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Words in This Story

furniture – n. chairs, tables, beds, etc.
exposure – n. the fact or condition of being affected by something or experiencing
something