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The Cappella dei Principi, was an idea created by Cosimo I. Designed by Matteo Nigetti in 1602, it was completed by Buontalenti, who made major alterations to the original design.
To carry out the amazing artistic work of coloured marble inlay, and semi-precious stone, the Grand Ducal hard stone workshop, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure was established.
The Cappella contains six tombs of the Medici Grand Dukes and is decorated in green and red marble. Although there are six grand sarcophagi they are all empty; the Medici remains are interred in the crypt below. Marble, mother-of-pearl, lapis lazuli, and coral inlays around the base of the tombs reproduce the coats of arms of sixteen Tuscan towns. The niches above were intended to hold sculptures but only two were completed: Ferdinando I and Cosimo II, both by Pietro Tacca (1626-42).
The photo shows the two completed tombs.
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