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At first it can be a bit difficult to tell all the Florentine churches apart. Which marble facade is which? Which ones are “new”? And which churches were left “undressed”?
I thought I’d show some of them to clear the confusion – and to memorize them myself…
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Above is Santa Maria Novella. Probably the first church you see if you arrive by train. It is a Dominican basilica, finished around 1360. The facade is “original”, from the 15th century. I love the rounded side parts. The facade also has two different kinds of sundials. And there is a long vaulted cloister wall in striped black and white marble, so lovely.
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The next church you are likely to come across is Santa Maria del Fiori, or the Duomo. The Cathedral of Florence. It was built between 1296 and 1436. The exterior is original in green, white and red marble, except for the facade which was left bare until the 19th century. After the unification of Italy it was clad in the same coloured marble, only with more reds, to emphasize the Italian flag colours.
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Santa Croce, the huge Fransiscan basilica with the large piazza bearing the same name, was built during the same time as the Duomo, and is said to have been founded by St Francis himself. Its facade was also left bare until the mid 19th century. Santa Croce with its numerous art treasures was badly damaged by the 1966 flood.
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This is what the Duomo and Santa Croce would have looked like before they got their marble facades. San Lorenzo, completed in the 15th century, was left bare. Michelangelo was commissioned to design a white marble facade, but it was never built. The matter of completing the facade according to Michelangelo’s design is still being discussed, but no decision has been made. Maybe next time this place will look completely different?!
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One facade I hope they never change is this one, of Santo Spirito. All I have to show you is this mobile phone photo in pouring rain, but I think you can see how beautiful the church is in its simplicity. And the piazza too, it is a truly lovely place which you shouldn’t miss if you visit Florence. The basilica was built in the 15th century, but Brunelleschi’s facade was never finished. In the 18th century the walls were plastered.
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And now my favourite of the Florentine churches (although it is a close call), San Miniato al Monte. It is also the oldest of the churches shown here, now belonging to Olivetan monks. If you can, visit when they sing Vespers in the crypt. It may not be heaven, but surely a preview of it… The basilica dates from early 11th century, the facade from a few decades later. This is Romanesque architecture at its very finest.
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This is where I like to go to Mass. Santa Santissima Annunziata, dating from 1250. It has a vaulted facade from 1600, copying the one on Ospedale degli Innocenti by Brunelleschi, to give the large piazza a unitary look.
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There are so many more churches in Florence, I’ll just show you one more since it’s one that you’ll see while strolling along the Arno. San Frediano in Cestello, a former Cistercian/Carmelite church completed in the late 1600’s.
And with the green grinning graffiti guy I also wave and say goodnight!
Hopefully we all know our Florentine churches a little bit better now 🙂
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FLORENSICS 