Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Borgo d'Ognissanti 42; 7am-12.30pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat, 4-8pm Sun)
Stroll along Borgo
d'Ognissanti, from Piazza Carlo Goldoni towards ancient city gate Porta al Prato, past an-
tiques shops and designer boutiques to reach this 13th-century church, built as part of a
Benedictine monastery. Its highlight is Domenico Ghirlandaio's fresco of the
Madonna
della Misericordia
protecting members of the Vespucci family, the church's main patrons.
Amerigo Vespucci, the Florentine navigator who gave his name to the American contin-
ent, is supposed to be the young boy whose head peeks between the Madonna and the old
man.
Also here are a
Crucifixion
by Taddeo Gaddi, Ghirlandaio's
St Jerome
(1480) and Bot-
ticelli's pensive
St Augustine
(also 1480). Botticelli, who grew up in a house on Borgo
d'Ognissanti, is buried here (look for the simple round tombstone marked 'Sandro
Filipepe' in the south transept).
Museo Stibbert
(
www.museostibbert.it
;
Via Federigo Stibbert 26; adult/reduced €8/6; 10am-2pm Mon-Wed, to 6pm Fri-
Sun)
Anglo-Italian, Florence-born Frederick Stibbert (1838-1906) was one of the grand
19th-century wheeler-dealers on the European antiquities market and amassed an in-
triguing personal collection, showcased in Villa di Montughi, aka the Stibbert Museum.
Take bus 4 from Stazione di Santa Maria Novella to the 'Gioia' stop on Via Fabroni, from
where it is a short walk.
Particularly great for kids is the
Sala della Cavalcata
(Parade Room) where life-sized fig-
ures of horses and their riders in all manner of suits of armour from Europe and the
Middle East rub shoulders. Other varied exhibits include clothes, furnishings, tapestries
and 16th- to 19th-century paintings.
MUSEUM
