- kylebarber
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Editor Pick
A Piazza that is Home to Events Throughout the Year
- November 5, 2009
- Rated 4 of 5 by
airynfaerie from St. Augustine, Florida
Host to numerous festivals, activities, and events throughout the year, Piazza Santa Croce is one of the city's most active piazzas and home to some historical happenings. Located along Via de' Benci/Via Giuseppe Verdi, this spacious plaza flanks one of Florence's most remarkable basilicas by the same name. When you walk upon this square you're immediately struck with a small feeling of wonder as the history that's taken place here is undeniable.
The large sculpture of Dante stands proudly on the eastern side just in front of the Santa Croce church, which is home to the tombs and memorials of such great minds like Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo. Outside in the square, the sides are other historical landmarks like the Palazzo Cochi-Serristori, and the Palazzo dell'Antella with a facadeby San Giovanni.
During our year of living in Florence, we happened upon several events that took place here, like the annual Artisanal Chocolate Festival which takes place in January or February. Also many of the runs through the city like the annual Marathon end here with complete fanfare. During the time of Carnevale, there were several staged plays and music, as well as impromtu street performances. At Christmastime there is a German Christmas market which fills the square with rows and rows of food and craft vendors.
A famous Florentine tradition of the rough sport "Calcio storico" is played here and has been since the 16th century, although it was banned several years for stepping over the boundaries of civic fun, as too many people were sent to the hospital at the no-rules game of savage fighting alongside soccer. Now, it's a bit more tamed down, and the four teams dressed in the neighborhood colors of the four main quadrants of the city battle it out more for historic recollection than only to win.
No matter what time of the year you visit this beautiful city, take the time to stroll through this lovely piazza before or after you make one of the "must-see" stops into Santa Croce Basilica. You're sure to find something interesting to watch.
From journal Visiting the Piazzas of Florence
Editor Pick
Graves of the Masters
- October 19, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
airynfaerie from St. Augustine, Florida
Thinking of how to sum up the amazing things about and within this church is a daunting task. This collection of history and art is rich with so many treasures it's hard to believe that they're all in one location. As the main church of the Franciscan order in Florence, Santa Croce is just blocks from the Duomo in the heart of the city center.
As you approach the marble facade of this striking church, the open piazza of the same name is laid out before you. If you're lucky, there may be a market or festival taking place in the square which is the location for many seasonal happenings. If you're facing the church, the ticket window is around towards the left-hand side of the building...so walk around, pay the fee, and get ready for a treat.
Still the largest Franciscan church in the world, this entire structure, including the grounds behind, courtyard, refectory, bell-tower, cloisters and chapter house. Building began in 1294 but wasn't completed until 1442, and is a wonderful example of Gothic style with open simplicity of a cavernous interior. After taking in the feeling of the space, start looking around the edges at the many famous tombstones and memorials. Michelangelo, Dante (who also stands outside the front doors as a statue overlooking the square), Machiavelli, Galileo, and plenty others.
Works adorn the walls, various naves, and alter from famous artists like Donatello, Bronzino, and Vasari. To see even more works of art, head outside to the courtyard with several interesting sculptures. Check out the cloister built by Brunelleschi, and the Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce (Museum of the Works of Santa Croce) mainly located in the refectory. Not only old history, this church is known for more recent history when because of it's close proximity to the Arno River, was severely damaged in the 1966 flood, and you can still see watermarks on the interior walls.
This is, in a way, a one-stop shop to admire works and the gravesites of artists, musicians, architects, scientists, writers, and influential thinkers of the times. Do me a favor, if you're in Florence and are interested in history of the city and great minds - visit Santa Croce.
• Piazza Santa Croce
• Bus: B, 13, 23, 71
• Open 9:30am-5:30pm (Mon-Sat), 1pm-5:30pm (Sun)
• Admission 4euros
From journal Churches in Florence - The Major Players
Editor Pick
Florence's Pantheon
Santa Croce is my man. This Franciscan basilica is located in a low-lying district formerly home to lower-class artisans to the east of the other attractions of Florence. Yet a visit is highly recommended. The piazza out front (constructed to hold overflow from church services) is a lovely old thing, full of life. It is here that the games of Calcio Storico (a kind of medieval football match) take place in summer. With sparser crowds than the Piazza del Duomo, Piazza Santa Croce wins the prize for best square in town. (It’s only serious rival is Piazza della Santissima Annunziata; spotlit at night, its daytime aspect is spoiled by wheely-bins and tramps). The church has a distinctive frontage, icing-white, with green inserts like the cathedral, again a 19th century gloss. But it does work! A statue of Dante also stands here. Like most depictions I’ve seen of the poet, he looks well and truly hacked off about something (Exile? Never marrying Beatrice? The fact that Florence is quick to jump on his coat-tails now but did not recognise his talent in life?).
Entrance is via the north portico and costs €5.00. I would also recommend hiring an audioguide from the stand; it is only €3.00, and is packed with information. It comes with a keyed map – there are 83 snippets. Helpfully, the map also tells you in advice how long each segment is, and which are the most important. Listening only to the latter will cut the running time down to nearer 40 minutes than the full three and a half hours!
Inside restoration of the vast echoing space is ongoing, but you can access most of the points of interest. Start by taking a seat in the pews and gazing around at the immensity. On the counter-façade you can see the statue that inspired Lady Liberty. Used as a sort of pantheon of great Florentines, you can view tombs for the heretical Galileo, Michelangelo (who made it quite clear that he wanted to be buried in Rome), that man of impeccably nuanced reputation Macchiavelli, and the composer Rossini. There is an empty tomb for Dante – the damned Ravennese refuse to return him to the city which exiled him. There is also an interesting pulpit. Ground-space was sold off at a hefty premium for tombs, and so the pulpit is clamped to a supporting column, and is actually accessed through a passage cut through the column.
The top of the church is home to a necklace of chapels, dedicated to the greater glory of the very wealthiest families in medieval Florence. Taddeo Gaddi was responsible for most of the frescoes in the Baroncelli chapel, but Giotto is the man in the Peruzzi and Bardi chapels, to the right of the high altar. The expressions of loss on Giotto’s monks as they mourn the loss of the (clean-shaven) St Francis is tangible, as is the anger of his father higher up. The altarpiece shows further scenes from the life of St Francis and is a much earlier work by another artist, very Byzantine and posed. Here the saint has a beard. By the time of Giotto the Franciscan order had decided that beards smacked of depravity – hence, hey presto, the saint was now depicted smooth-cheeked.
The church was freezing, so it was a relief to exit through the southern wall and get out into the baking sun of the cloister. At is easternmost point is the Pazzi chapel, which is acknowledged as a masterpiece. Apparently. To my eyes it seemed cold, clinical, and overly-rigorous.
Back out in the cloister the tour takes you through to the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce. This is an often-charming repository of the order’s works. It holds some chilling plaster angels (like those in the Doctor Who episode ‘Blink’) and a silver and gold reliquary of St Humiliana. There is some stained glass, including one of a saint riding a burning cart. Finally comes the refectory or Cenacolo, named after Gaddi’s ‘Last Supper’ which dominates the far end. The fresco has now been restored – in the horrific floods of 1966 the waters of the Arno rose up to ten feet high in this room. The great crucifix by Giotto’s master Cimabue is also shown here. The damage done to this 13th century processional cross was the most heart-breaking residue of the floods, and it cannot be wholly repaired. In contrast Bronzino’s ‘Christ in Limbo’, depicting Christ marching down from heaven to save souls in purgatory, looks freshly painted. It is displayed in its original state. The demons in the top left were overpainted at the time. It was thought that their presence was not appropriate for an altarpiece. Then in the 19th century the nudity suddenly became an issue and the painting was removed from public gaze.
I found my afternoon out east at Santa Croce a good antidote to the massive crush of tourists that you find on the Duomo – Signoria – Uffizi – Ponte Vecchio axis. Obviously there are still a good many sight-seers here, but their numbers are nowhere near as oppressive. A wander across to the Piazza, even if you decide not to enter the basilica, is well worth it. However, I would argue that a look around the church and its attached museum is a fascinating way to spend an hour. The audioguide really adds a lot to the experience too – though I doubt you will have the stamina to listen to the full three and a half hours! But selective listening does entertain and educate.
From journal Florence, Birth-Place of the Renaissance
Editor Pick
Santa Croce
- November 23, 2007
- Rated 4 of 5 by
paolo1899 from Naples, Italy
Santa Croce is one of the oldest Franciscan basilicas and, in terms of its dimensions, also one of the most magnificent. Adjacent to the church is the convent complex with its two cloisters, the novices' quarters, the Chapter Room, better known as the Pazzi Chapel, and the refectory, which is now the premises of the Museum and houses famous works originating from the church and the cloisters. Built in 1294, to a design by the great architect Arnolfo di Cambio, the Basilica has lived through seven centuries of history, augmenting its artistic heritage as a result of exceptional contributions, to the point of becoming one of the best-loved and most visited sites in Florence. Everything in the church is of the very highest quality: the frescoes executed through the contributions of Giotto, Maso di Banco, Taddeo Gaddi, Giovanni da Milano and Agnolo Gaddi; the monumental crosses and the polyptychs, the splendid fourteenth-century windows; the Renaissance architecture created by Michelozzo and Brunelleschi; the fifteenth-century sculptural works – tombs, altars and pulpits – by the greatest Florentine masters, including Donatello, Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano and Benedetto da Maiano. Later, in the second half of the sixteenth century, Santa Croce was involved in an architectural and iconographic programme inspired by the principles of the Counter-Reformation, involving the erection of large altars embellished with paintings by the greatest Tuscan artists of the time. However, it was with the construction of the tomb of Michelangelo that the Basilica confirmed its vocation to house “the urns of the great” and to become the Pantheon of Italian glories. In the course of the nineteenth century, alongside the sepulchres celebrated by Ugo Foscolo, private tombs inspired by a romantic mourning for lost affections also found their place in the Basilica, and above all in the cloister. In the nineteenth century the facade and the campanile were built, and the monument to Dante Alighieri was set up in the square.
From journal Basilica di Santa Croce
Editor Pick
Basilica di Santa Croce
Basilicia di Santa Croce is one of Florence's major churches (the other highly touted church is the Duomo) and is within walking distance of the Duomo. It is extremely popular with travellers and locals alike because the church is the resting place of renowned Italians such as Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, and Galileo. The exterior of the church is similar to that of the Duomo - with the same colour patterns and style. Outside the church is a huge statue of Dante, who has a tomb in the church but he is actually buried elsewhere. The real gem of Santa Croce must be the stunning Pazzi Chapel that was designed by Brunelleschi. I rather enjoyed the stunning frescoes by Giotti in Peruzzi and Bardi sections of the church.
It is a nice change of pace from the hectic atmosphere seen over at the Duomo. Santa Croce is more laid-back and has smaller crowds and therefore more of a peaceful atmosphere. It is a great way to spend your afternoon in Florence after a busy morning at the museums.
The church is open on Monday-Saturday 9:30am to 5:30pm and on Sundays from 1pm to 5:30pm. Admission is €4-5 euros although I can't remember how much I paid. You must dress conservatively to be allowed entry into the church. Ladies cannot wear shoulder-baring tops and pants/skirts above the knee. Men must dress appropriately as well. To get to Santa Croce, it's a short walk from the train station or Duomo although buses no. 13, 23 and 71 can get you there as well.
From journal 3 Nights in Fabulous Florence