Summers have always been crowded in Florence, but somehow this year feels particularly unpleasant. Tourists are even finding their way outside the most central axis (train station – Duomo – Palazzo Vecchio). So, what if you love Renaissance art and are visiting Florence in the summer? There’s not much you can do about it if the Uffizi and Accademia are on your checklist, but if you’re a return visitor, I’ve got some tips for you!
In the past decade, Florentine museum managers have been hard at work to provide regular access to many important works of art that were previously closed. These are places that I visited as a student, navigating opening hours that read like astrological calendars and feeling very fortunate if I got in. Perhaps for this reason they’re lesser known to general tourists. They’re places that local university professors bring their students, but otherwise you’re likely to find yourself alone with the art. So without further ado, here are my top places in Florence to see Renaissance art without the crowds. Oh, and might I mention: many of them are also free!
Chiostro dello Scalzo
When I first arrived in Florence, the Chiostro dello Scalzo was one of those secret spots that was rarely open, and in fact I never got to see it. In late 2022 it finally opened with regular opening hours, linked to the management of nearby San Marco.
This “hidden gem” is a pure example of Mannerist fresco narratives. It’s a small, covered cloister that once provided access to the oratory of a confraternity called Compagnia dei Disciplinati di San Giovanni Battista (founded 1376). Confraternities in the Renaissance were associations of lay men (and sometimes women) who gathered for a specific purpose. Some performed important social actions like charity (see below, Buonomini di San Martino) while the others were “laudari” and they devoted themselves to prayer, often including processions and sometimes even flagellation. This confraternity in fact was dedicated to the Passion of Christ and their leader walked barefoot, earning them the name “scalzo” or without shoes.
Now what about the art?! Vasari reports on the 12 monochrome scenes painted here by Andrea del Sarto, the Florentine Mannerist artist who was a brother of this confraternity. There is also the participation of Franciabigio. The scenes represent stories from the life of Saint John the Baptist, with various trompe-l’oeuil statues of virtues. The small space and the kind of “fuzzy” effect of these sculptures makes the place, I think, particularly relaxing.
Where and when: Via Cavour 69, open Tues-Sat 8:15-13:50; first and third Mondays and second and fourth Sundays.
Alberti’s Holy Sepulchre
More than a “hidden gem”, this building-inside-a-building is more like a jewel box. Giovanni Rucellai, Florence’s second-wealthiest man, chose a modest shape for his tomb: that of the Holy Sepulchre, the church in Jerusalem said to be both the location of Christ’s crucifixion and the location of his empty tomb.
The scale model of the Holy Sepulchre was created by Leon Battista Alberti in a side chapel of the church of San Pancrazio in Florence, in the Santa Maria Novella neighborhood where the Rucellai family were the main patrons. This church was long deconsecrated, but the family managed to maintain the chapel, partitioning it off from what has been, at times, government offices and even a tobacco factory. The church, with its modern interior architecture, is now the Museo Marino Marini, with beautifully displayed modern sculpture, and through the museum, you can also access the Rucellai Chapel. Alberti made this idealised scale replica of the structure in Jerusalem in 1467 based on drawings that circulated in Europe at the time. For more about the chapel, see my article here.
Where and when: Museo Marino Marini, piazza S. Pancrazio, open Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 10-19. €10.
Cenacolo del Fuligno
Last Supper paintings were common iconography in Florentine refectories (where monks and nuns ate), and these followed a rather traditional form of the Last Supper in a horizontal area, and above, usually the Crucifixion. The Cenacolo del Fuligno on via Faenza, a stone’s throw from the Santa Maria Novella train station, reopened this past May, 2024, with regular opening hours after many years of only being open on special occasions.
A large lunette on the far wall of the refectory contains the dining scene below, and in continuous space, the artist uses columns and arches to reveal a landscape in which he places the Agony in the Garden. When the fresco was discovered in the 19th century it was attributed to Raphael, but is now quite universally understood to be by Perugino. This makes sense if you consider that the fresco graced the refectory of Franciscan tertiary sisters from Foligno, a town in Umbria in the province of Perugia, where Perugino worked for much of his career. While most dates I found online indicate the 1490s for the completion of this work, a recent study puts it to the 1470s, ie. before Perugino painted in the Sistine Chapel. It’s worth taking a close look at the laden table with its very delicate glassware and detailed foods (for an analysis of food and wine in Florentine Last Suppers see my article in The Florentine).
Where and when: via Faenza 40, Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 – 13:30. Free.
Sant’Apollonia
The Last Supper by Andrea del Castagno (1447) for the convent of Sant’Apollonia is a nice comparison to the Cenacolo di Fuligno, for this too was painted for nuns. It is an early illusionistic work that uses one-point perspective, which must have been quite the surprising effect for people of the time.
Try to imagine how a nun might have used this space 500 years ago. She’d have entered through a door in the wall at the opposite end from the painting, having just ritually washed her hands before entering the dining hall. She would process in silence and take her place on a bench on one of the side walls, in front of which there would have been a long table. Under the image of the Last Supper, where Christ announces to his disciples that one of them will betray him, the community’s Abbess would have sat, below the image of Christ. The women would eat in silence, perhaps listening to a reading from the Bible. As they partook in the meal, their space was extended, through one-point perspective, in time and place to that of the Life of Christ.
Where and when: via XXVII Aprile, 1, open weekdays 8:15 to 13:50 and open the second and fourth weekends of the month. Free.
Casa Buonarroti
In the Santa Croce area, not far from Michelangelo’s tomb, is the house-museum dedicated to the great Michelangelo Buonarroti. The artist’s great-nephew Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger had the idea of acquiring property in Florence to glorify the memory of the artist with decorations by great artists of his time – the early 17th century – and to house works he’d managed to collect including some drawings and early sculptures.
This museum is the perfect place to have a Michelangelo experience mostly on your own. There are two very early works – the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna of the Stairs – that baffle me every time because the artist was between 15 and 17 years old when he sculpted these reliefs. The drawings room shows a rotating collection for conservation purposes.
A don’t miss part of this museum is the Galleria, a room created to narrate Michelangelo’s greatness through canvases representing meetings between the artist and various popes, his death and apotheosis, and his virtues. The most relevant painting here in my opinion is that of Inclination by Artemisia Gentileschi, which has recently been restored.
Read more about the Young Michelangelo in this itinerary on my blog.
Where and when: Via Ghibellina 70, open daily except Tuesdays, 10-16:30, €8.
Church of Santa Trinita
Although it’s right downtown on via de’ Tornabuoni, the luxury shopping street, and near the eponymously named bridge on which many sit and enjoy gelato, not many tourists enter the church of Santa Trinita, which is good for us! During the Renaissance, this church was much favoured by wealthy Florentine families who decorated its many chapels with frescoes and altarpieces.
A favourite of mine is the Sassetti Chapel painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio, to the right of the high altar. The patron, a wealthy banker named Francesco Sassetti, wanted to dedicate a chapel to his name-saint, Saint Francis. He hired Ghirlandaio to paint the elegant fresco cycle from 1482-5, which illustrates scenes from the life of Francis with parallel elements to the second coming of Christ.
Perhaps the most interesting scene here is one that is not part of the traditional hagiography of Saint Francis and it’s the front and central scene of the Resurrection of the Boy. In the background of this scene we see something that apparently happened more often than you’d imagine: a child falls out of a palazzo window to his death. Saint Francis resurrects the boy in the main scene of the fresco. This is a miracle that took place in Rome, but it’s pictured in Florence to make it more relatable. The iconographical choice relates to the death of the patron’s firstborn son Teodoro and the subsequent birth of a second son named (poor kid!) Teodoro II, which the parents perceived as rebirth.
The beautiful Adoration of the Shepherds on the altarpiece is also by Ghirlandaio. The patron, Francesco Sassetti, is depicted in fresco to the right of the altarpiece, while his wife Nera Corsi is on the left.
Where and when: piazza di Santa Trinita (via Tornabuoni), open daily 8-12 and 16-18:15, Sunday hours are limited by Mass. Free.
Orsanmichele
You’ve probably walked by the building of Orsanmichele many times. Situated between the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio, it’s right on the tourist tromp, and many umbrella-wielding guides stand outside, pointing at the sculptures (now copies) in the niches outside. Ye who loves art history will remember that it was precisely at Orsanmichele that some of the early greats of Renaissance sculpture went head to head – we encounter a young Donatello working in marble and an established Ghiberti who was favoured for the works commissioned in bronze by the major guilds. As the sculptures for the external décor of Orsanmichele are so important, they have been removed and placed inside museums. Some are at the Opera del Duomo, one at Santa Croce, and some at the Bargello. But the lion’s share are still at Orsanmichele, and they were displayed on an upper floor that was rarely open until a grand reopening, post-renovation, in late 2023.
Head up many sets of stairs (sorry, no elevator) to visit this newly laid out museum, trust me, it is worth it. The display is fantastic because our view of the sculptures is enhanced by the panels that frame them, while quite detailed explanatory text is on the back of each panel. You can still see the rears of the sculptures which has always been one of the most interesting things about the Orsanmichele display. Don’t miss the top floor of the building, reached by a slightly scary metal staircase, as there’s a breathtaking view of the city. For more photos and a list of the sculptures displayed see this article on my blog.
Where and when: Museo di Orsanmichele, via dell’Arte della Lana, closed Tuesdays. Open every other day 8:30 to 18:30, on Sundays it closes at 13:30. €8.
Oratory of the Buonomini
This tiny chapel is super-central, just around the corner from Dante’s house, where tons of tour groups stop to talk, but only the private tours with an in-the-know guide go inside. So the Oratory of the Buonomini remains a secret hidden in plain sight! I’ve always been fascinated with charitable actions in the Renaissance, most of which were carried out by a series of confraternities, which are associations of laypersons (mostly men) with various specific duties. The Misericordia, Florence’s ambulance service, is in fact a confraternity founded in 1244, that is still active today. The Buonomini is one such confraternity, who, like the Misericordia, also visited the sick, but their primary focus was quite different. The Buonomini were founded in the middle of the 15th century when numerous wealthy families fell into disgrace due to the political policies of the Medici family. Upon suggestion of Fra Antonino Pierozzi (who later became Archbishop of Florence and a saint), Cosimo de’Medici funded the institution of these 12 men from good families who had the role of discreetly identifying who amongst them needed assistance.
For a full description and photos of this oratory see my 2014 article “A few good men”: the Buonomini Confraternity on this blog.
Where and when: Piazza San Martino, M-Sat 10:30-12:30 & 14:30-17:00. Closed Sunday, Friday and Saturday afternoons.
How to discover lesser-known museums in Florence
Even I haven’t visited literally ALL the museums in Florence! One way to discover them all on a map is by browsing what’s available in the Firenzecard museum circuit on their website or by downloading their App. The opening hours are easy to find all in one place which is handy because a lot of smaller museums have limited hours.
Firenzecard is the city’s official 3-day museum pass that includes over 60 museums, including the popular Uffizi and Accademia (with reservations) but also so many smaller cultural sites whose entry tickets do add up. Firenzecard costs €85 for 3 days, and in 2024 there’s a free 2-day extension that can be activated up to a year after purchase (so either for a 5-day stay or for a return visit in the same year!). I’ve calculated that the pass really pays off for a 5-day stay if you want to visit places like the Bargello, Casa Buonarroti, Medici Chapels etc. as well as the Uffizi.
Do you know of any other major works of Renaissance art in Florence that you can visit in peace and quiet, even at the busiest times of the year?
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Alexandra Korey
Alexandra Korey aka @arttrav on social media, is a Florence-based writer and digital consultant. Her blog, ArtTrav has been online since 2004.
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