Florence & Tuscany - Italy - page 962

1 Santa Maria Novella

Basilica e Chiostri Monumentali

di Santa Maria Novella
( www.chiesasantamarianovella.it ; Piazza di Santa Maria Novella 18; adult/reduced €5/3; 9am-5.30pm
Mon-Thu, 11am-5.30pm Fri, 9am-5pm Sat, 1-5pm Sun) This monumental complex, fronted by the
green-and-white marble facade of the 13th- to 15th-century Basilica di Santa Maria di Novella
, includes romantic church cloisters and a stunning frescoed chapel. The basilica itself is a
treasure chest of artistic masterpieces, climaxing with a series of frescoes by Domenico
Ghirlandaio. Allow at least a couple of hours to take it all in.
As you enter the basilica, look straight ahead to see Masaccio's superb fresco Trinity
(1424-25), one of the first artworks to use the then newly discovered techniques of per-
spective and proportion. Close by, hanging in the central nave, is a luminous painted Cru-
cifix by Giotto (c 1290).
The first chapel to the right of the altar, the Cappella di Filippo Strozzi, features spirited
late-15th-century frescoes by Filippino Lippi (son of Fra' Filippo Lippi) depicting the
lives of St John the Evangelist and St Philip the Apostle.
Behind the main altar itself are the highlights of the interior - Domenico Ghirlandaio's
series of frescoes in the Cappella Maggiore . Relating the life of the Virgin Mary, these vi-
brant frescoes were painted between 1485 and 1490 and are notable for their depiction of
Florentine life during the Renaissance. They feature portraits of Ghirlandaio's contempor-
aries and members of the Tornabuoni family, who commissioned them.
To the far left of the altar, up a short flight of stairs, is the Cappella Strozzi di Mantova ,
covered in wonderful 14th-century frescoes by Niccolò di Tommaso and Nardo di Cione.
The fine altarpiece (1354-57) here was painted by the latter's brother Andrea, better
known as Andrea Orcagna.
From the church, walk through a side door into the serenely beautiful Chiostro Verde
(Green Cloister; 1332-62), part of the vast monastical complex occupied by Dominican
friars who arrived in Florence in 1219 and settled in Santa Maria Novella two years later.
On its north side is the spectacular Cappellone degli Spagnoli (Spanish Chapel), originally
the friars' chapter house and given its current name in 1566 when it was used by the Span-
ish colony in Florence. The tiny chapel is covered in extraordinary frescoes (c 1365-67)
by Andrea di Bonaiuto.

CHURCH, CLOISTERS