Santa Maria Novella Church in Florence, Italy

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The Church of Santa Maria Novella & Museum

The Church of Santa Maria Novella might not be at the top of your list of places to visit in Florence but we highly recommend you place it on there. Architecturally, it is one of the most important Gothic churches in Tuscany. The exterior is the work of Fra Jacopo Talenti and Leon Battista Alberti. The interior holds extraordinary works of art including Masaccio's Trinità, Ghirlandaio's fresco cycle in the Tornabuoni Chapel and Giotto's Crucifix, among others.

The convent was built between 1279 and 1357 by Dominican friars near a 7th century church located in the fields just outside Florence's medieval walls. The lower part of the marble facade, which is Romanesque in style, is believed to have been executed by a Dominican architect, Fra Iacopo Talenti da Nipozzano, while the upper part was completed only 100 years later in 1470 by Leon Battista Alberti. Thus, the facade is not only the oldest of all the churches in Florence but it is also the only church with its original planned facade in place. As you will see, the church of San Lorenzo never even received its planned marble facade while others were completed centuries later with new designs.

What to see inside

Inside, the church is vast and looks even longer than it is thanks to the clever coloring of the central arches. The layout is supposed to be work of Brunelleschi, the same architect of the Duomo's cupola.

From the very beginning, great works of art were conceived for the church. While some are found in the Uffizi today (in particular, Duccio di Boninsegna's Enthroned Madonna and Child), you need to visit the church to see these works of art.

Masaccio

The Trinità or Trinity by Masaccio on the far wall right in front of you as you enter the church through the side door. The Trinità (1424-25) is one of the earliest paintings to demonstrate mastery of perspective. Also notice that the Virgin Mary is not portrayed as a young girl as in so many other paintings; here, she is older and is clearly a mother.

The entire church was initially covered in frescoes but these were painted over in the 16th century by Vasari when he carried out massive works ordered by Cosimo de' Medici. The Trinità was covered by a massive painting and only rediscovered around 1860 when further refurbishments were carried out.

Giotto's Crucifix

The Crucifix by Giotto hangs in the center of the central nave as all his crucifixes were intended: with empty air all around it, you were to be reminded of Christ's actual crucifixion on the wooden cross. While it is an early work (1288-89) for Giotto, you can see his mastery in the shading on Christ's body, the waves in his hair, the blood spilling out, the details in the background tapestry.

The Strozzi Chapel

The Strozzi Chapel, to the right of the main altar, is dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and scenes of his life are portrayed in the beautiful frescoes by Filippino Lippi. He begun working on the chapel in 1487 but then the Strozzi were exiled from Florence by the Medici. The chapel was finished only in 1502 after the Strozzi returned to the city. As Lippi dies in 1504, this is one of his last works.

The Tornabuoni Chapel

The Tornabuoni Chapel is the main chapel you see at the front of the church. The altar used to be smaller and placed in the center of the chapel but was enlarged in the 19th century with the large engraved marble altar we see today. The Tornabuoni chapel is dedicated to both the Virgin Mary, to whom the church is dedicated (scenes on the left), and to St. John the Baptist (scenes on the right). The frescoes are by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his workshop, in which a very young Michelangelo apprenticed. The three young lads giving their backs to the observer in the bottom right scene "Mary visits Saint Elizabeth" (pictured above) are said to be his work. After restoration, the vibrant colors are still stunning and Ghirlandaio's penchant for including important people of the day in contemporary clothing make his work "photographs" of his days. The beauty of his work has to be personally admired to be fully appreciated.

See a few more pictures of some of the frescoes inside the Tornabuoni chapel »

Brunelleschi's Crucifix

The Gondi chapel to the left of the main altar contains a wooden Crucifix by Brunelleschi from 1410-15 which he completed in competition with his friend Donatello. Brunelleschi saw the crucifix Donatello had created for the Bardi Chapel in Santa Croce and was said to have exclaimed that Donatello's Christ looked like "a farmer on a cross" and said "I'll show you how Christ is supposed to be". He said that Christ was a man but not just any particular man and Brunelleschi then set out to show what he meant by that. The result is this Crucifix: carved in wood and then painted, observe the beautiful, majestic inclination of the head and the realistic detailed carving of the muscles in the body.

The Strozzi di Mantova Chapel

The Strozzi di Mantova Chapel (left transept) is dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas and decorated with frescoes (1351-7) by Nardo and Andrea di Cione depicting Paradiso e Inferno, Paradise and Hell. Dante himself is represented in the Last Judgment just behind the altar. The polyptych is by Andrea di Cione, called the Orcagna. Orcagna had originally done frescoes in the main Tornabuoni chapel but these were painted over by Ghirlandaio; after restoration of the Ghirlandaio frescoes, some recovered synopses of Orcagna's frescoes are today displayed in the Santa Maria Novella museum.

The crèche and pulpit

The crèche by a young Sandro Botticelli is from about 1475 and is now on the inner wall of the facade above the door. It was placed here after the fresco was found in 1860 behind another altar painting.

The pulpit has 4 beautiful bas-reliefs by Buggiano, Brunelleschi's adopted son. The first one, the Annunciation, is said to be particularly lit by a direct ray of light passing through the round stained glass window on March 25, the day of the Annunciation and for centuries considered the start of the new year by the Florentine calendar.

These are just some of the major works of art for which you should visit the Santa Maria Novella Church but there are many other decorations and details to be admired within. Enjoy your visit!

The Museum

The museum, adjacent to the church, is managed by the city of Florence and foresees a separate admission fee. The ticket includes a visit to the Green Cloister with frescoes by Paolo Uccello with scenes from the Old Testament and, being outside, are in bad shape but can still be admired.

Here you'll also visit the magnificently decorated Chapter House, called the Cappellone degli Spagnoli or Spanish Chapel ever since it was used by the courtiers of Eleanor of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I. The chapel features frescoes by Andrea di Bonaiuto depicting Jesus Christ's passion, death and resurrection on the front wall as you enter. To the right, in the Triumph of the Doctrine, the dogs of God (a pun on the word Dominican - domini canes) are sent to round up lost sheep into the fold of the church. To the left, another fresco the Triumph of the Catholic Doctrine while the entrance wall frescoes depict stories of the life of St. Peter Martyr.

The tour ends in the ancient refectory where precious liturgical objects belonging to the church's sacristy are on display as well as a few recovered synopses from Orcagna's frescoes in the Tornabuoni chapel.

View photos of Santa Maria Novella Church and its artwork! »

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