The Art and monuments of the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence

The Basilica of Santa Croce, located in Florence, stands as a prime example of Italian Gothic architecture, renowned for its grandeur and historical significance. Constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries, it houses a vast array of art and monuments, reflecting various periods of artistic development and cultural heritage. The interior of the basilica is adorned with frescoes, sculptures, and chapels commissioned by prominent families and artists of the Renaissance era, contributing to its status as a cultural hub of the city. The basilica's significance extends beyond its architectural and artistic merits; it serves as a burial site for several notable figures, including Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei, and Niccolò Machiavelli, contributing to its multifaceted historical and cultural significance.

Nave

[1]

[2]

Madonna del latte (or Madonna col bambino), marble relief (Antonio Rosselino, 1478)

[3]

[4]

Ecce Homo, painting (Jacopo Coppi del Meglio, 1576)

[5]

marble pulpit with relief in five panels of the life of St Francis (Benedetto da Maiano, 1475)

[6]

Flagellation, painting (Alessandro Fei)

[7]

Prayer in the Garden, painting (Andrea del Minga)

[8]

Annunciation, tabernacle and figures relief (Donatello, 1435)

[9]

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, painting (Cigoli, 1603–04)

[10]

Pentecost, painting (Giorgio Vasari)

[11]

pipe organ (Onofrio Zeffirini da Cortona, 1579)

[12]

Assumption of the Virgin, fresco (attrib. Agnolo Gaddi)

[13]

Ascension, painting (Giovanni Stradano)

[14]

Pietà, painting (Agnolo Bronzino, 1569)

[15]

Incredulity of St Thomas, painting (Giorgio Vasari)

[16]

Supper at Emmaus, painting (Santi di Tito)

[17]

Resurrection, painting (Santi di Tito)

[18]

The Crucifixion, Ascension and Jesus' Apparition Before the Virgin, fresco remnants (Mariotto di Nardo)

[19]

Deposition, painting (Giovanni Battista Naldini)

[20]

series of saints, fresco (15th century)

Other Areas

[1]

Facade (Nicolas Matas, 1863)

[2]

Internal facade:

· Deposition, rose window (attrib. Lorenzo Ghiberti, 15th century)

· stone medallion of St Bernardino of Siena: 'In nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur coelestium, terrestrium, et inferorum' (installed 1437)

[3]

Corridor to the Sacristy and the Medici Chapel (Michelozzo, c. 1445):

· door carvings (Giovanni di Michele)

· The Temple Dispute, fresco (Taddeo Gaddi)

· Virgin and Child and Saints, door lunette (possibly Fra Bartolomeo)

[4]

Sacristy (aka Cappella del Noviziato): 

· Sacristy cabinets (Giovanni di Michele)

· Crucifixion, fresco (Taddeo Gaddi, c. 1340)

· The Ascent to Calvary, fresco (Spinello Aretino, 14th century)

· Resurrection and Ascension, frescoes (Niccolò Gerini, late 14th century)

· marble lavabo (Pagno Portigiani)

· Christ the Redeemer, bust (Giovanni della Robbia)

[5]

Bell tower (Gaetano Baccani, 1847)

[6]

Pazzi Chapel (Filippo Brunelleschi (commenced), 1429):

· cherub medallion exterior frieze (Desiderio da Settignano)

· portico dome, terracotta rosette-panelled vaulting and St Andrew tondo (Luca della Robbia)

· inlaid door (Giuliano da Maiano, 1472)

· The Twelve Apostles, tondi; lambs and cherubim, frieze (Luca della Robbia)

· The Four Evangelists, pendentive medallions (possibly Filippo Brunelleschi)

· windows (Alesso Baldonivetti)

[7]

Lower floor: nineteenth century funerary monuments

[8]

Great Refectory (Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, Room I)

· Crucifix, wooden painting (Cimabue)

· Crucifix with the Tree of Life and The Last Supper, frescoes (Taddeo Gaddi)

· Triumph of Death, The Last Judgement and Hell, six fresco fragments (Andrea Orcagna)

· Compianto, fresco (Taddeo Gaddi)

· First Arrival of the Franciscans to Florence, fresco (attrib. Giovanni del Biondo, c. 1380)

· St Louis of Toulouse, bronze statue (Donatello, 1442)

· St Francis and St John the Baptist, detached fresco (Domenico Veneziano)

[9]

Minor Refectory (Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, Room II)

· St Francis Distributing Loaves, lunette (attrib. Jacopo Ligozzi)

[10]

Former Cerchi Chapel (Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, Room III)

· various della Robbia works and detached frescoes

[11]

Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, Room IV

· various sinope and fresco fragments

[12]

Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, Room V

· sculptures

[13]

Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, Room VI

· frescoes by Matteo Rosselli and others

[14]

First Cloister (Arnolfo di Cambio)

· Warrior, bronze statue (Henry Moore)

· God the Father, statue (Baccio Bandinelli)

[15]

Second Cloister (possibly Bernardo Rosselino, 1453)

[16]

Permanent exhibition of Pieri Parigi (lower floor)

Chapels

[A]

Salviati Chapel (aka Machiavelli, Borghesi, St Lawrence)

· Martyrdom of St Lawrence, painting altarpiece (Jacopo Ligozzi)

[B]

Bardi di Vernio Chapel (I)

· entrance gate (Conte di Lello Orlandi, 1335)

· Crucifix, wooden sculpture (Donatello, c. 1412)

· ciboria; two angels, wooden sculptures (Giorgio Vasari)

· stained glass window (Ulisse de Matteis, c. 1335)

[C]

Niccolini Chapel

· Chapel (Giovanni Antonio Dosio, 1584)

· cupola frescoes (Baldassare Volterrano, 1664)

· Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin, paintings (Alessandro Allori)

· 'Chastity', 'Prudence' and 'Humility', statues (Pietro Francavilla)

[D]

Bardi di Vernio Chapel (II) (aka St Sylvester Chapel)

· Life of St Sylvester, frescoes (Maso di Banco, c. 1340)

· 'St John Gualberto' and 'Life Stories', altar triptych (Giovanni del Biondo)

· Final Judgement and Bettino Bardi, fresco (attrib. Maso di Bianco)

· The Deposition and Female Donor, fresco (attrib. Taddeo Gaddi)

· stained glass window (Maso di Banco)

[E]

Pulci-Berardi Chapel

· Martyrdom of St Sebastian and St Lorenzo, frescoes (Bernardo Daddi, c. 1330)

· Madonna and Child, altarpiece (Giovanni della Robbia)

[F]

Ricasoli Chapel (aka St Anthony Chapel)

· Stories of St Anthony of Padua, frescoes (Luigi Sabatelli and sons Francesco and Giuseppe Sabatelli)

[G]

Capponi Chapel (aka St Anne Chapel)

·Pietà, statue (Libero Andreotti, 1926)

[H]

Spinelli Chapel (aka Tosinghi, Sloane)

· The Vow of the Florentines After the Plague of 1633 and Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, frescoes (Gasparo Martellini, 1837)

[I]

Cappella Maggiore (Chancel)

· Crucifix, wooden painting (Maestro di Figline, c. 1340)

· Madonna and Saints, polyptych (Niccolò Gerini, 14th century)

· Legend of the Holy Cross, frescoes (Agnolo Gaddi, c. 1380)

· stained glass windows (Agnolo Gaddi and school, late 14th century)

· 'Madonna' (Niccolò Gerini) and 'Doctors of the Church' (Giovanni del Biondo, and other), polyptych

[J]

Bardi Chapel

· Life of St Francis, altarpiece (anonymous, Italo-Byzantine, c. 1240)

· Life of St Francis, frescoes (Giotto c. 1325)

· stained glass window (Jacopo di Casentino)

[K]

Peruzzi Chapel

· Life of St John the Baptist and Life of St John the Evangelist, frescoes (Giotto, c. 1315–20)

[L]

Giugni Chapel (aka Bonaparte)

[lost Giotto frescoes]

[M]

Riccardi Chapel (aka Soderini, Calderini)

· Discovery of the Cross, painting (Jean Bilivert)

· Ecstasy of St Francis, painting (Matteo Rosselli)

· St Lawrence Distributing Alms, painting (Domenico Passignano)

· Life of St Andrew, frescoes (Giovanni de San Giovanni)

[N]

Velluti Chapel (aka Morelli, St Michael)

· Stories of St Michael, frescoes (anonymous, aka the 'Maestro della Cappella Velluti')

· polyptych (Giovanni del Biondo) and predella (Neri di Bicci)

[O]

Rinuccini Chapel

· Stories of the Virgin and Stories of Mary Magdelene, frescoes (Giovanni da Milano and Matteo di Pacino,
1363–66)

· Saviour in the Act of Benediction and Four Prophets, vaulting frescoes (Giovanni da Milano, 1365)

· altar polyptych (Giovanni del Biondo)

· wrought iron gate (1371) 

[P]

Medici Chapel (aka Cappella del noviziato)

· chapel (Michelozzo, 15th century)

· Madonna and Child with Angels and Saints, altarpiece (Andrea della Robbia, c. 1480)

· stained glass window (Alesso Baldovinetti)

[Q]

Baroncelli Chapel

· Coronation of the Virgin, polyptych (Giotto and disciples, 1334)

· Stories of the Virgin, frescoes (Taddeo Gaddi, c. 1334)

· The Stigmatisation of St Francis, stained glass windows

· Gabriel and the Annunciation, arcade pillar statuettes (Giovanni da Balduccio)

· Four Prophets, external stained glass windows (Taddeo Gaddi)

· altar polyptych (possibly Taddeo Gaddi or Giotto)

· Madonna of the Cintola, painting (Sebastiano Mainardi)

[R]

Castellani Chapel (aka Chapel of the Sacrament)

· tabernacle (Mino da Fiesole)

· Lives of St John the Baptist, St John the Evangelist, St Nicholas of Bari and St Anthony Abbot, frescoes (Agnolo Gaddi and his school, from 1385)

· painted cross (Niccolò Gerini)

Funerary Monuments, Tombs and Memorials

[1]

Giovan Battista Niccolini, dramatist (monument, Pio Fedi, 1883)

[2]

Gustavo Modena, actor (memorial, 1903)

[3]

Antonio Targioni Tozzetti, botanist (monument, Enrico Pazzi)

[4]

Francesco Pepi, lawyer (tomb slab, 16th century)

[5]

Domenico Sestini, numismatist (monument, Mariano Pozzetti)

[6]

Filippo Buonarroti, politician (monument, 1861)

[7]

Daniele Manin, Risorgimento figure (monument, unknown, 1861)

[8]

Francesco Nori, Medici ally (tomb slab, Antonio Rosselino, bef. 1478)

[9]

Michelangelo Buonarroti, artist (tomb monument, Giorgio Vasari, 1570; statues, Giovanni dell'Opera, Valerio Cioli and Battista Lorenzi; frescoes, Giovanni Battista Naldini)

[10]

Antonio Teri and descendants (tomb slab, 1601)

[11]

Dante Alighieri, poet (cenotaph, Stefano Ricci, 1829)

[12]

Antonio Griffoli da Terranuova, his son Giovan Battista and descendants (tomb slab, 1616)

[13]

Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno, politician (memorial, 1877)

[14] 

Vittorio Alfieri, dramatist (tomb monument, Antonio Canova, 1810)

[15] 

Belligiardo di Marignano Bagnesi and descendants (tomb slab, 1567)

[16] 

Giosuè Carducci, poet (memorial, 1907)

[17] 

Pietro Antonio Micheli, botanist (tomb monument)

[18] 

Niccolò Machiavelli, political philosopher (tomb monument, Innocenzo Spinazzi, 1787)

[19] 

Luigi Lanzi, art historian (monument, Giuseppe Belli, 1810)

[20] 

Francesco Nerli (tomb slab, 15th century)

[21] 

Leonardo Bruni (aka Aretino), humanist scholar (tomb monument, Bernardo Rossellino, 1446–50)

[22] 

Gioacchino Rossini, composer (tomb monument, Giuseppe Cassioli, 1887)

[23] 

Ugo Foscolo, writer (tomb monument, Antonio Berti, 1937)

[24] 

Giovan Vincenzo degli Alberti, statesman (monument, Emilio Santarelli, c. 1836)

[25] 

Mikhail Kozielski Oginski, composer (tomb monument, Francesco Pozzi)

[26] 

Louise Stolberg, Countess of Albany (tomb monument, Luigi Giovannozzi and Emilio Santarelli, 1830)

[27] 

Mikhail Skotnicki, noble (tomb monument, Stefano Ricci, 1808)

[28] 

Francesco Castellani and wife Elena Alamanni, nobles (tomb)

[29] 

Giuseppe Stefano Raddi, botanist (memorial, Ottaviano Giovannozzi, c. 1829)

[30] 

Vincenzo Maria Giugni, noble (tomb monument, unknown, 1758)

[31] 

Baroncelli family (tomb monument, Giovanni di Balduccio, c. 1328)

[32] 

Francesco Lombardi, jeweller (monument)

[33] 

Gastone della Torre, Bishop of Aquileia (tomb, Tino da Camaino, 14th century)

[34] 

Umiliana de' Cerchi, beatified nun (reliquary bust)

[35] 

Enrico Gazzarrini, painter (funerary memorial, Paolo Sarti, 1840)

[36] 

Louise de Favreau, poetess (monument, Félicie de Fauveau, 1856)

[37] 

Virginia De Blasis, singer (tomb monument, Luigi Pampaloni, 1839)

[38] 

Giuseppe Sabatelli, painter (tomb monument, Ulisse Cambi, 1844)

[39] 

Giovanni Pacini, musician (tomb monument, Vincenzo Consani, 1874)

[40] 

Carlo Poerio, patriot (memorial, Giovanni Paganucci, 1867–68)

[41] 

Girolamo Segato, naturalist (tomb monument, Bartolini school, 1887)

[42] 

Florence Nightingale, pioneering nurse (monument, Francis W. Sargant, 1913)

[43] 

Stanislao Bechi, Polish independence figure (monument, Teofil Lenartowicz, 1882)

[44] 

Giuseppe La Farina, Risorgimento figure (monument, Michele Auteri Pomàr, 1877)

[45] 

Prince Neri Corsini, statesman (tomb monument, Odoardo Fantaocchiotti, 1860)

[46] 

Domenico Biordo degli Ubertini (tomb slab, 14th century)

[47] 

Baroncelli family member (tomb, Giovanni da Balduccio, 1327)

[48] 

Julie Clary Bonaparte, royal (tomb monument, Luigi Pamploni, 1845)

[49] 

Charlotte Napoléon Bonaparte, royal (tomb monument, Lorenzo Bartolini, 1839)

[50] 

Vincenzo Peruzzi, gonfaloniere (monument, Odoardo Fantacchiotti)

[51] 

Andrea de' Bardi, noble (tomb, 1367)

[52] 

Bardi family member (tomb)

[53] 

Cardinal Agnolo Niccolini (tomb monument)

[54] 

Archbishop Giovanni Niccolini (tomb monument, Moses statue by Pietro Francavilla)

[55] 

Matteo Niccolini (tomb monument, Moses statue by Pietro Francavilla)

[56] 

Antonio Cocchi, physician (tomb monument, Zanobi Del Rosso, 1773)

[57] 

Maria Settimia Venturi Salviati, noble (monument, unknown, c. 1701)

[58] 

Gualterotto de' Bardi, noble (tomb monument, Agnolo di Ventura, attrib., c. 1337)

[59] 

Alessandro Galilei, mathematician (monument, Girolamo Ticciati, 1739)

[60] 

Bettino de' Bardi, noble (tomb)

[61] 

Leopoldo Nobili, physicist (monument, Francesco Pozzi, 19th century)

[62] 

Luigi Canina, archaeologist (monument, Niccolò Matas, 1856)

[63] 

Countess Zofia Zamoyska (Czartoryska) (tomb monument, Lorenzo Bartolini, 1844)

[64] 

Pietro Nardini, composer (tomb monument, Francesco Carradori, 1793)

[65] 

Caterina Alamanni Antellesi, noble (tomb monument)

[66] 

Atto Vannucci, historian (monument, Enrico Pazzi, 1891)

[67] 

Zofia Kickich Cieszokowska, noble (monument, Teofil Lenartowicz)

[68] 

Giuseppe Salvetti, architect (monument, Stefano Ricci)

[69] 

Gaspero Maria Paoletti, architect (monument, Stefano Ricci)

[70] 

Macedonio Melloni, physicist (monument, Niccolò Matas, 1857)

[71] 

Luigi Cambray Digny, architect (monument, Lorenzo Bartolini, 1844)

[72] 

Luigi Cherubini, composer (cenotaph, Odoardo Fantacchiotti, 1869)

[73] 

Bartolomeo Valori, gonfaloniere (tomb slab, Lorenzo Ghiberti, c. 1427)

[74] 

Leon Battista Alberti, artist (monument, Lorenzo Bartolini, c. 1836)

[75] 

Raffaello Morghen, engraver (cenotaph, Odoardo Fantacchiotti, 1841)

[76] 

John Ketterick/Catrick, Bishop of Exeter (tomb slab)

[77] 

Francesco Sansoni, Franciscan (tomb slab, Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1499)

[78] 

Carlo Marsuppini, humanist (monument and tomb slab, Desiderio da Settignano, 1453)

[79] 

Count Vittorio Fossombroni, statesman (tomb monument, Lorenzo Bartolini)

[80] 

Donatello, artist (monument, Urbano Lucchesi)

[81] 

Carlo Botta, politician (tomb monument, Giuseppe Lunardi, 1903)

[82] 

Leonardo and Elisabetta Tedaldi, nobles (tomb slab, Antonio Rossellino, 1474)

[83] 

Lorenzo Ghiberti, sculptor and son Vittorio Ghiberti (tomb slab)

[84]

Guidacci family (tomb slab, 16th century)

[85]

Eugenio Barsanti, inventor (tomb monument, bust by Leone Tommasi)

[86]

Giovanni Lami, historian (tomb monument, Innocenzo Spinazzi, 1772–75)

[87]

Raffaello Sanzi, artist (memorial plaque)

[88]

Galileo Galilei and Vincenzo Viviani, scientists (tomb, Giovan Battista Foggini, 1737; statues, Giovanni Battista Naldini, Vincenzo Foggini and Girolamo Ticciati)

[89]

Antonio Dal Pozzo di Biella, Archbishop of Pisa (tomb slab, 1616)

[90]

Vincenzo da Filicaia, poet (tomb monument)

[91]

Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, entomologist (tomb monument)

[92]

Marquis Gino Capponi, statesman (tomb monument, Antonio Bortone, 1884)

[93]

Niccolò Tommaseo, patriot (memorial, 1913)