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Number 14 of 20 in Florence

San Marco: Fra Angelico's convent

Fra Angelico was a friar here, and he painted the place he lived in. The convent of San Marco holds more of his work than anywhere else in the world, and most of it is still on the walls it was made for.

What it is
Museum
Time to allow
1 to 1.5 hours
Cost
Ticket
Best time
As it opens in the morning

Florence this week

    Why the Museum of San Marco is worth it

    Cosimo de' Medici paid for the convent to be rebuilt from 1437 by his architect Michelozzo, and kept a cell in it for his own retreats. Fra Angelico and his assistants then painted a fresco in each of the cells on the upper floor, more than forty of them: a single scene from the life of Christ on a bare white wall, with nothing to distract.

    You climb the stairs, turn, and the Annunciation is in front of you at the top, the angel and the Virgin under a loggia like the one in the cloister below. It is one of those paintings that are better in the place than in any photograph.

    Fifty years later the prior was Girolamo Savonarola, the preacher who drove out the Medici, burned the vanities of Florence and was himself burned in Piazza della Signoria in 1498. His cells are at the end of the corridor, with his portrait, his desk and a piece of the stake.

    What to see

    1. The Annunciation

      At the head of the stairs to the dormitory. An inscription beneath it asks whoever passes not to forget to say a Hail Mary.

    2. The cells

      Walk down both corridors and look into each. The ones on the outer side, for the senior friars, are thought to be by Fra Angelico's own hand: the Noli me tangere, the Transfiguration, the Mocking of Christ.

    3. Cosimo's cell

      A double cell at the end of the north corridor, larger than the rest, with an Adoration of the Magi, the Medici's favourite subject.

    4. The Pilgrims' Hospice

      On the ground floor, a room of his paintings on panel brought from churches across Florence: the Deposition, the Last Judgment with its ring of dancing angels, and the great altarpiece of San Marco itself.

    5. The library

      Michelozzo's long vaulted hall on two rows of slim columns, built for the books Cosimo gave. It is held to be the first library of the Renaissance opened to the public.

    6. The Last Supper

      In the small refectory, by Ghirlandaio: the apostles at a table set with cherries and glass, against an orchard full of birds.

    How to do it well

    • The museum has long kept short hours, mornings above all, and is shut on some Sundays and Mondays of each month. Check the day before you walk there.
    • Go at opening and you may have the upper corridor almost to yourself.
    • The Accademia is two minutes away. San Marco first, while it is open, then the David.
    • An hour is enough. The cells are small and the visit is one of looking through doorways.
    • The church next door is separate and free, and holds the tomb of Saint Antoninus, the convent's first prior.

    Where it is

    Address

    Piazza San Marco 3, five minutes north of the Duomo

    Nearest station

    Santa Maria Novella station, about fifteen minutes on foot

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line.

    Tickets and tours: Museum of San Marco

    Museum of San Marco: common questions

    What is in the Museum of San Marco?
    The largest collection of works by Fra Angelico in the world: the frescoes he painted in the friars' cells and at the head of the stairs, and his altarpieces on the ground floor. It also has Savonarola's cells and Michelozzo's library.
    Is San Marco worth visiting?
    Yes, and it is the best answer to a crowded day elsewhere. Few visitors come, the building is beautiful, and the paintings are seen where they were meant to be.
    How long does San Marco take?
    About an hour.
    How much time do you need for the Museum of San Marco?
    Allow 1 to 1.5 hours. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

    What visitors say about the Museum of San Marco

    Rating from Google

    4.7

    3,671 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 11 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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