The Church of Santa Maria Novella was the first of the great Florentine basilicas and the first large-scale Gothic building in the city. Started by the Dominicans soon after 1240; it was finished in 1357 but was not consecrated until 1420. In the following centuries it underwent various modifications, in particular the remodelling begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1566 and the 19th-century interventions designed to restore the Gothic appearance of the building.
There are a number of important artworks in the church: Giotto’s Crucifix and a wooden Crucifix by Filippo Brunelleschi, Masaccio’s fresco of the Trinity and two chapels frescoed respectively by Domenico Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi. The rich polychrome-marble façade was completed in the second half of the 15th century by Leon Battista Alberti.
The church is closely connected to the Florentine Rucellai family, as can be deduced from the name of Giovanni Rucellai, the munificent financier shown prominently on the façade.
Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, 18, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
Entrance is from the left-hand side of the Church looking at the façade (Piazza Santa Maria Novella 18). Ring the bell (red button). The Church is accessible except for Cappella Tornabuoni, Cappella Rucellai and Cappella Strozzi di Mantova.
To complete the tour and visit the Museum, exit from the same door in piazza Santa Maria Novella and get to the entrance of the Museum (piazza Stazione 4). The Museum is entirely accessible.
