Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Piazza San Pancrazio 1; adult/reduced €4/2; 10am-5pm Wed-Sat & Mon)
Deconsecrated in the
19th century, the Chiesa di San Pancrazio is home to this small art museum displaying
sculptures, portraits and drawings by the Pistoia-born sculptor Marino Marini (1901-80).
But what really stuns is the superbly restored
Cappella Rucellai
and the tiny scale copy of
Christ's Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem - a Renaissance gem by Leon Battista Alberti.
The chapel was built between 1458 and 1467 for the tomb of wealthy Florentine banker
and wool merchant, Giovanni Ruccellai. Alberti chose white marble from Carrara and
green marble from Prato to craft the sepulchre, an exquisite work of art with its classical
mouldings, decorative geometric motifs and lantern crown. Abandoned for decades, it was
restored and unveiled with much pomp and ceremony in 2013.
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1
Santa Maria Novella
Radiating west and south from the venerable basilica, the neighbourhood of Santa Maria
Novella is blessed with chic boutiques, impressive palaces and art-adorned churches.
Basilica e Chiostri Monumentali di Santa Maria Novella
MAP
CHURCH, CLOISTERS
GOOGLE MAP
(
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 Novella
,
secrets 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.
The lower section of the basilica's striped marbled facade is transitional from
Romanesque to Gothic; the upper section and the main doorway (1456-70) were designed
by Leon Battista Alberti. As you enter, look straight ahead to see Masaccio's superb
fresco
Trinity
(1424-25), one of the first artworks to use the then newly discovered tech-
niques of perspective and proportion. Close by, hanging in the central nave, is a luminous
painted
Crucifix
by Giotto (c 1290).
The first chapel to the right of the altar,
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.
