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Visitors Will Be Allowed In Florence Chapel’s Secret Room To Ponder If Drawings Are Michelangelo’s

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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. The long-hidden 10-meters by 3-meters space was discovered in 1975 sparkling a fierce debate over Michelangelos' attribution. Officials decided to open the room to the public on a limited basis to protect the works. Starting Nov. 15, up to 100 visitors will be granted access each week by reservation, four at a time, spending a maximum of 15 minutes inside the space. (AP Photo/Luigi Navarra)

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Just four at a time, visitors soon will be allowed access to a long-hidden space inside Florence’s Medici Chapel where delicate charcoal drawings sketched on the walls have been attributed by some experts to Michelangelo.

The tiny 33-by-10 feet space was discovered in 1975 when officials were searching for a new exit from the Medici Chapel to accommodate increasing visitors.

The museum’s then-director believed that they were by Michelangelo, but the major scholars of his drawings dismissed the idea.

A fierce debate continues to this day.

For most of the last 50 years, access to the room has been strictly restricted.

Starting Nov. 15, up to 100 visitors a week will be granted access by reservation and can ponder the mystery for themselves.

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