Florence recently unveiled a long-kept secret: Michelangelo’s hidden den beneath the Medici Chapels in San Lorenzo Basilica.
On November 15, the room was made accessible to the public. It displays dozens of the Renaissance master’s charcoal and chalk sketches on its walls, including planning for the famous David statue.
Visitors must book in advance and will be allowed to access the old coal room for 15 minutes for €20 (R412) per person, in addition to the €10 (R206) charged for entry to the main museum and €3 (R62) booking fee.
In Rome, the Vatican has opened an ancient Roman burial ground beneath Castel Sant’Angelo.
Known as the Via Triumphalis Necropolis, the City for the Dead is a burial ground for a significant number of Rome’s population from the first century BCE to the fourth century CE, reports lonelyplanet.com. It contains over 200 burial sites and many frescoes and stuccoes.