Michelangelus: a Microsoft font built from Michelangelo’s handwriting
Made for the 400th anniversary of St Peter’s Basilica, the typeface adapts Michelangelo’s letters from the Vatican archives into a modern script for signage, print and screens.
To mark the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St Peter’s Basilica, the Fabbrica di San Pietro, which looks after the basilica, has released a handwriting typeface with Microsoft called Michelangelus. The project was first announced in February 2026 and the font launched in October.
From archive letters to a working typeface
Creative Bloq reports that the Italian studio Studiogusto studied Michelangelo’s original manuscripts in the Vatican archives. The goal was not to copy his handwriting stroke for stroke but to adapt it into a functional script for basilica signage and for digital and printed material, keeping some of his flourishes in selected letters.
Numbers he never wrote
Because Michelangelo’s papers contain no modern numerals, the figures were built from his letters; the number one, for example, is based on a capital I. The family includes more than 500 characters in regular, italic, bold and bold italic.
Where to get it
Michelangelus is available through Microsoft 365 and as a free download, according to Creative Bloq and Italian news agency LaPresse.
Sources (3)
- Creative Bloq How Michelangelo’s handwriting became its own Microsoft font ↗ · 13 October 2026https://www.creativebloq.com/news/how-michelangelos-handwriting-became-its-own-microsoft-font
- LaPresse Michelangelus, ecco il nuovo font Microsoft della Fabbrica di San Pietro ↗ · 8 October 2026https://www.lapresse.it/vaticano/2026/10/08/michelangelus-ecco-il-nuovo-font-microsoft-della-fabbrica-di-san-pietro/
- Catholic World Report Vatican, Microsoft launch digital font inspired by Michelangelo’s handwriting ↗ · 24 February 2026https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2026/02/24/vatican-microsoft-launch-digital-font-inspired-by-michelangelos-handwriting/
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