In piazza santissima Annunziata, near the Ospedale degli Innocenti, is this church that houses an important "miracle-working madonna". Placed on the entrance wall to the left of the door, hourly services dedicated to this Madonna face the door, so be sure not to enter during one to avoid both great embarassment and disturbance. The rest of the church has been "Baroqued", reflecting the desires of the Servite community of the seventeenth century.

From the porch that gives onto the piazza, you access a courtyard (now enclosed with skylights) before going into the church. Presumably this space was created to assist in welcoming pilgrims who flocked here since the 14th century to see the Madonna. The courtyard's frescoes are now in pretty bad condition, but in here are early works by the major Mannerist artists of Florence (Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino).

Baptistry of Florence

During the Renaissance they thought this was Roman temple dedicated to Mars, but it is really Romanesque, ie 11th century.

Read more about the Baptistry...

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The Brancacci Chapel is in the left transept of the Church of the Carmine (seldom open on its own), which has 14th century origins but was mostly destroyed by fire in the late 18th century (and redecorated at that time).

The paintings in the Brancacci chapel were commissioned around 1425 from Masolino and his young assistant Masaccio. This fresco cycle allows us to pick out the works of the two artists, one slightly more "old fashioned" than the other, and to observe Masaccio's major innovations in painting (use of perspective, cast shadows, naturalism and emotion). Masolino went to Hungary in late 1425, and left much of the work to Masaccio, who left town in 1427 and then died in 1428. The chapel was left unfinished and was completed only in the 1480's by Filippino Lippi. The original ceiling by Masolino has unfortunately been replaced by an 18th-century work.

Piazza del Carmine
055 2768224
Daily 10-17, holidays 13-17. You will be given an entry time when you buy your ticket. 4 euros. Closed Tuesday.

See a Diagram of scenes in the Brancacci chapel.

4 euros entry, open all day 9:30-17.30. Enter via left side door. Photos permitted without flash.

San Lorenzo

10-17 daily, 4 euros
No photos.
Includes entrance to the OLD sacristy (L of altar).

Laurentian Library is open for occasional exhibits

See a projected finished facade

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The church of San Marco, with its 17th c (?) facade, is not of great artistic interest, though is historically important as it was the church annexed to the Dominican convent of San Marco. The high altarpiece by Fra Angelico is conserved in the museum part of the convent next door.

The Convent of san marco, visitable as a museum, contains frescoes by Fra Angelico in individual cells as well as in the spaces accessible to the public, such as the cloister and chapter house.

Download the free PODCAST on san marco
Read along with this text and images

The museum of san marco is open:
M-F 8.15-13.50
Sat 8.15-18.50
2nd and 4th Sunday of the month, 8.15-19
The church is open regular church hours

  Click here to buy what I say is undoubtedly the best book on San Marco, with great illustrations.

Santa Maria del Fiore (The Duomo)

This medieval building has a 19th century facade, don't be fooled! The marble work around the sides is what you should look at to get a sense of the style of the Duomo, which was actually begun inthe 1290's.

The tall dome by Brunelleschi is the largest domed space since the Pantheon and also gives the building its affectionate nickname, the "Cuppolone"! The width at the base of the dome is 138.5 feet, which is almost as big as an american football field. With it, Brunelleschi (who won the job through a competition in 1417) solved a big building problem with architectural and technical innovations, such as the use of a double shelled dome, the invention of a more economical form of scaffolding, and the development of various hoisting machines.

M, T, W, Fri: 10-17
Thurs: 10-15.30
first Sat of month: 10-16.45
Sun: 13.30-16.45

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Santa Maria Novella

MAIN CHURCH
The major Dominican church of the city provides a counterpart to the church of the other mendicant order (the Franciscans). The Albertian facade hides an earlier interior (1360's) in the Gothic style. Alberti was working for his patron, Giovanni Rucellai, who got patronage rights to the facade with the condition that the bottom part, that was already finished, be incorporated in the new design. Alberti brilliantly incorporates the gothic arches at the base of the facade with a more classicizing vocabulary throughout the top of the space.

INSIDE: Housed inside is the famous and myseterious Trinity by Masaccio, as well as a sculpted wooden cross by Brunelleschi, which may have influenced Masaccio's figure of christ. Also not to be missed are the private chapels of the Strozzi and Tornabuoni families, with frescoes by Nardo da Cione, Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi.

MUSEUM: A separate entry ticket is required, but worth the price, to access the CHIOSTRO VERDE (frescoes in bad state including one by Paolo Uccello that is an example of early perspectival application) and the fabulous SPANISH CHAPEL, the chapter house, with frescoes by Andrea da Firenze from the 1360's.

M-Thurs and sat: 9-17
Fri: 13-17
Sun: 13-17
Entrance fee 2,50 euro

Fresco in the "green cloister": Paolo Uccello's Deluge.

Daily, 8.15-17.00
Entrance fee 6 euros; 3 euros reduced.

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Orsanmichele

One of the city's prettiest little churches is not on the tourist track but hides two fifteenth-century chapels of significant note, as well as numerous altarpieces.
The Sassetti Chapel by Ghirlandaio (read more here) just came out from under restoration (May 2005) and contains views of the contemporary city (1490's), and portraits of important people. The Bartolini-Salimbeni chapel (see photo) of the 1420's is also worth a look, with frescoes and an altarpiece by Lorenzo Monaco (1420's).