Tomb slab of a knight of the Medici family

Marble tomb slab of the second half of the 14th century, by a Florentine workshop. The fine carving depicts a shield with Medici coat of arms (six spheres), surmounted by a helmet with lion's-paw crest, in turn holding a sphere. Evidently dedicated to a Medici with the rank of knight, this slab was found in the floor of the ancient basilica during the excavation campaign of 1964-1972, in association with a tomb burial. Nearby was the burial of another Medici, the gonfalonier (magistrate) Giovanni of Averardo, also a 14th-century knight.