In which Tuscan town was Michelangelo born?

Michelangelo was born in the Tuscan town of Caprese on 6 March 1475.

At the time, his father, Ludovico Buonarroti, served as a local government official in Caprese. The family soon returned to Florence, where Michelangelo was raised and where he encountered the artistic culture that shaped his career. Caprese is now commonly called Caprese Michelangelo in his honour.

The town lies in the Valtiberina area of eastern Tuscany, near Arezzo. That location explains a frequent mix-up: Michelangelo is strongly associated with Florence because of his youth, Medici connections and major works there, but Florence was not his birthplace. Siena and Arezzo are also Tuscan cities, yet neither is the canonical answer to this question.

Michelangelo later became one of the central figures of the High Renaissance, producing works such as David, the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Pietà. His birthplace is therefore a small Tuscan town rather than one of the region’s better-known artistic capitals.