Santa Croce Church
Back to the Duomo Continue to the Uffizi Gallery
The
Santa Croce Church is located a few blocks to the east of most of the
well-known sights of
Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church
in the world and features many chapels with impressive frescoes, some by
Giotto. There is a museum in the former
refectory building (dining hall) with additional artworks. But the church is probably best known for the
people buried in it. A few of the
eternal residents are Michelangelo, Galileo, Ghiberti, Machiavelli and
Rossini. There are also monuments to
many prominent Italians who aren’t buried there, such as Dante, da Vinci,
Raphael and Marconi.
To
get to Santa Croce from the Duomo, we headed south down the Via dei Calzaiuoli
(the Street of the Many Vowels), hung a left at the Piazza della Signoria (more
on this piazza later) and continued on to the church. The piazza in front of the church was for
some reason filled with scaffolding, denying us a good view of the church
front. The entrance was on the north side
of the church, where we paid our money and went in.
Church and Scaffolding
 Inside the Church HD Video (11.7 MB) SD Video (4.1 MB) |  Main Altarpiece, Niccolò di Pietro Gerini |
 Restorers and Main Altarpiece HD Video (17.4 MB) SD Video (7.2 MB) |  Church from Altar Area HD Video (13.9 MB) SD Video (7.6 MB) |
 Cappella Benci |  Cappella Bardi di Vernio |
 Cappella Niccolini |  Cappelli Bardi di Vernio and Niccolini HD Video (17.1 MB) SD Video (7.0 MB) |
 Capella Baroncelli, Altarpiece |  Capella Baroncelli, Stained Glass |
Photography
wasn’t forbidden in the church, and we found much to take pictures of. A fair amount was hidden from our view,
though, as scaffolding being used for restoration work blocked much of the
south side of the church (including Machiavelli’s tomb) and the main altar area
behind the main altarpiece.
Tomb of Galileo Galilei
Tomb of Galileo Galilei
HD Video (15.8 MB) SD Video (3.3 MB)
Tomb of Michelangelo Buonarroti
Tomb of Michelangelo
Detail, Tomb of Michelangelo
Detail, Tomb of Michelangelo
Tomb of Michelangelo
HD Video (17.0 MB) SD Video (3.6 MB)
Tomb of Giaochino Rossini
Monument to Dante Aleghieri
Monument to Leonardo da Vinci
Monument to Guglielmo Marconi
Monument to Niccolini
From
the church we walked over to the museum and looked at the artworks displayed
there.
 Ascent to Calvary, Spinello Aretino |  Crucifixion, Taddeo Gaddi |
 Resurrection, Niccolo di Pietro Gerini |  Chapel with Bas-Relief and Nativity Scene HD Video (12.0 MB) SD Video (2.8 MB) |
 Tree of the Cross, Taddeo Gaddi |  Descent of Christ into Limbo, Angelo Bronzino |
Altarpieces in Museum (SD Video, 3.9 MB)
There were photographs taken during a terrible flood that struck Florence in 1966, as well as a well-known artwork (a 1288 crucifix by Cimabue) damaged during the flood. Many artworks were damaged throughout the city, and restoration continues to the present day.
 Photo of 1966 Flood |  Damaged Cimabue Crucifix (1287-88) |
From the museum we walked through a cloister with a nice view of the 19th Century campanile and the 15th Century Pazzi Chapel (partly designed by Brunelleschi) and exited back into the Piazza di Santa Croce.
 Cloister |  Cappella dei Pazzi and Campanile |