A sculptor, painter, architect and poet, Michelangelo Buonarroti's name has become synonymous with the word `masterpiece', and is considered by many the greatest living artist in his lifetime. Although his practice of several arts was not unusual in his time, few artists have been able to create such long lasting masterpieces, and fewer still have been able to create such enduring works in multiple mediums. Michelangelo would have assured himself a place in history by only creating David, or by painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, or by sculpting the breathe-taking Pietá, but rather he created all 3 as well as many more.

Michelangelo grew up in Florence, the center of the early renaissance- a period of outstanding artistic attainments and innovation, and although Michelangelo was born in Caprese, he always considered himself a son of Florence. Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese to Ludovico di Leonardo...