The Laurentian Library, built in a cloister…

The Laurentian Library, built in a cloister of the Medicean Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze under the patronage of the Medici pope, Clement VII, is built to emphasize that the Medici family are no longer mere merchants but members of intelligent and ecclesiastical society.

It contains the manuscripts and books belonging to the family’s private library.

Commissioned in 1523, the library is renowned for the architecture planned and built by Michelangelo and is an example of Mannerism.

Construction begins in 1525.

Michelangelo will employ elements of classical architecture for ornamental and surprising effect, with little regard to their original function.

Florentine Mannerist sculptor, painter, and goldsmith Baccio (or Bartolomeo) Bandinelli, works mostly for the Medici family, producing, among numerous other works, a copy of the “Laocoon,”completed in 1525.

In this year, the thirty-two-year-old Bandinelli begins sculpting his major work, Hercules and Cacus, for the Piazza della Signoria, boasting that it will surpass Michelangelo's David, standing nearby.