ROME, Nov 4 ― Michelangelo Buonarroti, or Michelangelo, is one of history's most admired and mysterious artists. Some of his secrets will soon be revealed, when a room where he resided for two months is opened to the public for the first time in centuries.

The room in question is located beneath the Medici Chapels of Florence's Basilica of San Lorenzo. The Renaissance master spent two months hiding there in 1530, in order to escape a death sentence ordered by Pope Clement VII. This pontiff was a member of the Medici family, with whom Michelangelo was in conflict due to his involvement in the Republic of Florence. During this revolt, the powerful family was temporarily expelled from the Italian city. The return of the Medici to power drove the artist, then aged 55, into hiding until he finally obtained a pardon from the Pope.

During this period of isolation, Michelangelo is said to have produced numerous charcoal and chalk drawings on the walls of his chamber. As the artist was not in the habit of signing his works, it is difficult to confirm the authenticity of these sketches with any certainty. But the general consensus is that most of them are by the Italian master because of the similarities they bear with some of his most emblematic works.

The existence of these sketches remained unknown until 1975. At the time, Paolo Dal Poggetto, then director of the Medici Chapels, discovered them while searching for a suitable space to create a new exit for the museum. A trapdoor hidden beneath a cupboard provided access to this 10-metre-long, 3-metre-wide chamber.

Until now, this room has been accessible only to historians and art researchers. Visitors will be allowed in from November 15, but only in groups of four. This restricted access is designed to preserve the chamber and the relics it contains as much as possible. Francesca de Luca, curator of the Medici Chapels, explains in a statement that visitors will have the opportunity to discover a room with "exceptional evocative potential.” She adds: "Its walls seem to barely contain [the] numerous sketches of figures, mostly of monumental format, traced by signs that attest to great clarity of design.” ― ETX Studio