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Thursday, December 26, 2024
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Chiesa di Santa Croce
Piazza Santa Croce
Florence
Tuscany
055-244619
Type: Sightseeing
Cost: Euro 3
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Florence
Tuscany
055-244619
Type: Sightseeing
Cost: Euro 3
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
This Franciscan basilica grew into its current size under the careful plans of Arnolfo di Cambio from the end of the 13th century, when the modest chapel that originally stood on its spot was enlarged into the glorious edifice you see today. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the façade and campanile were added. Although neither the sides nor the back were completed, the stunning, although rather unconvincing, Neo-Gothic front gives a good idea of the intended effect. During the 15th century it was the final resting place of Florence’s most distinguished residents and more than 250 tombstones line the floor of the church with grander monuments marking the spot of the more famous artists and writers buried here – Michelangelo (first chapel on the right with tomb designed by Vasari), Dante (farther along to the right, although not actually buried here), Galileo (opposite) and Machiavelli (the fourth chapel on the right and the most visited).
You should also head into the Bardi and Peruzzi chapels to visit Giotto’s radiant frescoes depicting Scenes from the Life of St Francis in the former and Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist in the latter. The showpiece of the museum, to which your ticket also includes entry fax 055-2466105, same opening hours), is Cimabue’s wooden crucifix. It still manages to retain its original splendor despite damage from the 1966 flood that ravaged the Santa Croce quarter. But there are also detached frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi (The Last Supper and the huge Tree of the Cross) and by Orcagna, as well as one of Brunelleschi’s best but unfortunately uncompleted works, the Pazzi Chapel with terracotta décor by Luca della Robbia.
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