Staircase Construction
Since the entire library wasn’t yet complete when Michelangelo had left Florence in 1534, the project was taken over by Tribolo, Basari and Ammannati using the plans and instructions from Michelangelo. The beautiful stairs were carefully planned and designed in 1524 while Michelangelo still resided in Florence, Italy. In the initial design stage there were two flights of stairs located along the side walls, which shaped a bridge in front of the reading room door. Nearly a year after the first designs were laid out, the staircase was shifted to be in the middle of the vestibule (see image below for details). Niccolo Tribolo, an Italian Mannerist artist from Florence, tried his best to fulfill Michelangelo’s plans for the staircase in 1550, but he was unsuccessful. Therefore Ammannati, another Italian architect, took over and attempted to interpret Michelangelo’s plans. With the use of a clay model and a poor supply of materials, he completed the instructions that Michelangelo laid out.
The staircase now leads into the reading room which takes up a large section of the vestibule floor. Although it’s not as popular as the statue of David, his Laurentian Library stairway is still frequently marveled upon by visitors who tour the historic library.