Laurentian Medici Library

This guide to the Laurentian Medici Library in Florence follows Michelangelo, who fled the city in 1534 and never returned, yet kept writing from Rome about a staircase he said had come to him in a dream: two flights meeting at a single door. You'll hear how a sculptor named Ammannati spent years trying to interpret a small clay model and a handful of letters, and the argument over whether the steps should be carved in walnut or stone. Stand at the foot of the vestibule and look up before you start walking.