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Thursday, December 26, 2024
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Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella
Piazza Santa Maria Novella
Florence
Tuscany
055-215918
Type: Sightseeing
Cost: Euro 3
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Florence
Tuscany
055-215918
Type: Sightseeing
Cost: Euro 3
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
Begun in 1246 as the Florentine base of the Dominican faith, the first thing to strike you about Santa Maria Novella is its bright white and green marble façade added by Leon Battista Alberti in the 15th century. This is said to be Michelangelo’s favorite church. The Gothic interior – with its almost hypnotic pattern of black and white marble – houses a wealth of masterpieces including a Trinity (1427) by Masaccio (one of his last works), frescoes by Filippino Lippi and Ghirlandaio depicting The Life of St John the Baptist (Chapel Tornabuoni) and a commentary on Dante’s The Divine Comedy by Nardo di Cione (Chapel Filippo Strozzi).
Two famous crucifixes are shown, the first by Giotto and the second by Brunelleschi. Legend has it that Brunelleschi created the crucifix after a challenge from his friend Donatello who was peeved at Brunelleschi’s criti- cisms of his own efforts. The entrance to the museum (included in the ticket price) is to the left of the church. Here, in the Green Cloister you’ll see the famous – albeit sadly damaged – fresco cycle of scenes from the Old Testament created between 1432 and 1448 by Uccello and apprentices. In the Spanish Chapel is Andrea Buonaiuto’s allegory, The Church Militant and Triumphant, part of a glorious fresco cycle celebrating the Dominican order.
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