Florence’s Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
A place of peace and tranquility
In the late afternoon rain, I managed to walk straight into Florence’s Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. How was this even possible, when hour-long queues stretched outside the other sights of city, despite the weather?
The church was already old when the Dominicans, after arriving in Florence in 1219, were granted the cathedral and adjoining convent and chapter house as their home in 1221. As they grew in popularity and influence extensions to the old church began, which lasted over a century. The new church was consecrated in 1420 (hence Novella), and it soon became one of the most prestigious learning centres in Florence. By the 15th C visiting popes and their courts were staying in the adjoining convent, and in 1565 Duke Cosimo de’Medici was granted patronage. Under Cosimo, Vasari — whose hand can be seen across Florence — remodelled the church into the Basilica seen today.
A typical Florentine story, repeated in the buildings across the city.
The Basilica’s beauty begins even before walking inside. It has a facade of soft green and off-white marble, a perfect…
