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Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze

 

 
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Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze
 
 
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The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal FranciscanFranciscan

The term Franciscan is used to refer to the Roman Catholic orders which follow the monastic rule of St....
 [church]] in FlorenceFlorence

Florence is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy....
, ItalyItaly

Italy, officially the Italian Republic , is a Southern European country....
, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian Church in full communion with the Pope, the Bishop of Ro...
. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south east of the DuomoSanta Maria del Fiore

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church, or Duomo, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, note...
. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as MichelangeloMichelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, pai...
, DonatelloDonatello

Donatellowas a famous Florentine artist and sculptor of the early Renaissance....
, GalileoGalileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, astronomer, astrologer and philosopher who is closely associated with the scienti...
, MachiavelliNiccolò Machiavelli

Niccol di Bernado dei Machiavelli was a political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright....
, FoscoloUgo Foscolo

Ugo Foscolo, Italian writer, was born at Zakynthos in the Ionian Isles on 6 February 1778....
, GentileGiovanni Gentile

Giovanni Gentile was an Italian neo-Hegelian Idealist philosopher, a peer of Benedetto Croce....
, RossiniGioacchino Rossini Overview

Gioacchino Antonio Rossini was an Italian musical composer who wrote more than 30 operas as well as sacred music and chambe...
, MarconiGuglielmo Marconi

Although Guglielmo Marconi is widely credited as the "Inventor of Radio", for some this title is controversial, and compet...
 and FermiEnrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on beta decay, the development of the first nuclear reactor, ...
, thus it is known also as the Pantheon of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie or Pantheon dell'Itale Glorie).
BuildingThe Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapelChapel

A chapel is a church or area of worship, often small and attached to a larger institution such as a larger church, a college...
s, many of them decorated with frescoFresco

A fresco is a term for several related painting types....
es by GiottoGiotto di Bondone

Giotto di Bondone, better known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect....
 and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphsChurch monument

A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, often in the form of an effigy or ...
.
Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St FrancisFrancis of Assisi Summary

Saint Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan Order or "Friars Minor"....
 himself.






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Timeline

1294   Architect Arnolfo di Cambio designs the Florentine cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, better known smply as ''Il Duomo''. He also begins work on the Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze, also in Floren






Encyclopedia



The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal FranciscanFranciscan

The term Franciscan is used to refer to the Roman Catholic orders which follow the monastic rule of St....
 [church]] in FlorenceFlorence

Florence is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy....
, ItalyItaly

Italy, officially the Italian Republic , is a Southern European country....
, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian Church in full communion with the Pope, the Bishop of Ro...
. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south east of the DuomoSanta Maria del Fiore

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church, or Duomo, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, note...
. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as MichelangeloMichelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, pai...
, DonatelloDonatello

Donatellowas a famous Florentine artist and sculptor of the early Renaissance....
, GalileoGalileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, astronomer, astrologer and philosopher who is closely associated with the scienti...
, MachiavelliNiccolò Machiavelli

Niccol di Bernado dei Machiavelli was a political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright....
, FoscoloUgo Foscolo

Ugo Foscolo, Italian writer, was born at Zakynthos in the Ionian Isles on 6 February 1778....
, GentileGiovanni Gentile

Giovanni Gentile was an Italian neo-Hegelian Idealist philosopher, a peer of Benedetto Croce....
, RossiniGioacchino Rossini Overview

Gioacchino Antonio Rossini was an Italian musical composer who wrote more than 30 operas as well as sacred music and chambe...
, MarconiGuglielmo Marconi

Although Guglielmo Marconi is widely credited as the "Inventor of Radio", for some this title is controversial, and compet...
 and FermiEnrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on beta decay, the development of the first nuclear reactor, ...
, thus it is known also as the Pantheon of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie or Pantheon dell'Itale Glorie).

Building

The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapelChapel

A chapel is a church or area of worship, often small and attached to a larger institution such as a larger church, a college...
s, many of them decorated with frescoFresco

A fresco is a term for several related painting types....
es by GiottoGiotto di Bondone

Giotto di Bondone, better known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect....
 and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphsChurch monument

A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, often in the form of an effigy or ...
.
Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St FrancisFrancis of Assisi Summary

Saint Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan Order or "Friars Minor"....
 himself. The construction of the current church, to replace an older building, was begun on 12th May 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di CambioArnolfo di Cambio

Arnolfo di Lapo, also known as Arnolfo di Cambio, was a Florentine architect and sculptor....
, and paid for by some of the city's wealthiest families. It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IVPope Eugene IV Overview

Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was Pope from March 3, 1431 to his death....
. The building's design reflects the austere approach of the Franciscans. The floorplan is an Egyptian or Tau crossCross of Tau

The Cross of Tau, also called St....
 (a symbol of St Francis), 115 metres in length with a naveFacts About Nave

Links to full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are also found at the entry Cathedral diagram....
 and two aisles separated by lines of octagonal columns. To the south of the church was a conventConvent

A convent is a community of priests, religious brothers or religious sisters, or the building used by the community, particu...
, some of whose buildings remain.

In the Primo Chiostro, the main cloisterCloister

A cloister is a part of cathedral, monastic and abbey architecture....
, there is the Cappella dei PazziPazzi Chapel

Pazzi Chapel at the Basilica di Santa Croce is a typical Renaissance chapel in Florence....
, built as the chapter houseFacts About Chapter house

A chapter house is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held....
 between 1999 and 2005 and finally completed in the 1470s. Filippo BrunelleschiFilippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi was a great Florentine architect of the Italian Renaissance....
 (who had designed and executed the dome of the Duomo) was involved in its design which has remained rigorously simple and unadorned.

In 1560, the choir screen was removed as part of changes arising from the Counter-ReformationCounter-Reformation

The Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation was a movement within the Catholic Church to reform itself in the wake...
 and the interior rebuilt by Giorgio VasariGiorgio Vasari

Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter and architect, known for his famous biographies of Italian artists....
. As a result, there was damage to the church's decoration and most of the altars previously located on the screen were lost.

The campanileCampanile

| |-| |-| |-| |}A campanile is, especially in Italy, a free-standing bell-tower, often adjacent to a church or cathedral...
 was built in 1842, replacing an earlier one damaged by lightning. The neo-Gothic marble façade, by Nicolò Matas, dates from 1857-1863.

A Jewish architect Niccolo Matas from Ancona, designed the church's 19th century neo-Gothic facade, working a prominent Star of David into the composition.
Matas had wanted to be buried with his peers but because he was Jewish, he was buried under the porch and not within the walls.

In 1866, the complex became public property, as a part of government suppression of most religious houses, following the wars that gained Italian independence and unity.

The Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce is housed mainly in the refectoryRefectory

A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions....
, also off the cloister. A monument to Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale, OM, who came to be known as The Lady with the Lamp, was a pioneer of modern nursing....
 stands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. Brunelleschi also built the inner cloister, completed in 1453.

In 1966, the Arno RiverArno River

The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy....
 flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce. The water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair.

Today the former dormitory of the Franciscan Friars houses the Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School). Visitors can watch as artisans craft purses, wallets, and other leather goods which are sold in the adjacent shop.

Art

Artists whose work is present in the church include:
  • Benedetto da MaianoBenedetto da Maiano

    Benedetto da Maiano was an early Italian Renaissance sculptor....
     (pulpit; doors to Cappella dei Pazzi, with his brother GiulianoGiuliano da Maiano

    Giuliano da Maiano was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with w...
    )
  • Antonio CanovaAntonio Canova

    Antonio Canova was a Venetian sculptor who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh....
     (Alfieri's monument)
  • CimabueCimabue

    Cenni di Pepo Cimabue also known as Bencivieni Di Pepo or in modern Italian, Benvenuto Di Giuseppe, was a Florentine pain...
     (Crucifixion, badly damaged by the 1966 flood and now in the refectory)
  • Andrea della RobbiaAndrea della Robbia

    Andrea della Robbia was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, especially in ceramics....
     (altarpiece in Cappella Medici)
  • Luca della RobbiaLuca della Robbia

    Luca della Robbia was a Florentine sculptor noted for his terracotta roundels....
     (decoration of Cappella dei Pazzi)
  • Desiderio da SettignanoDesiderio da Settignano

    Desiderio da Settignano was an Italian sculptor active during the Renaissance....
     (Marsuppini's tomb; frieze in Cappella dei Pazzi)
  • DonatelloDonatello

    Donatellowas a famous Florentine artist and sculptor of the early Renaissance....
     (relief of the Annunciation on the south wall; crucifix in the lefthand Cappella Bardi; St Louis of Toulouse in the refectory, originally made for the OrsanmicheleOrsanmichele

    Orsanmichele is a church in the Italian city of Florence....
    )
  • Agnolo GaddiAgnolo Gaddi

    Agnolo Gaddi was an Italian painter....
     (frescoes in Cappella Castellani and chancel; stained glass in chancel)
  • Taddeo GaddiTaddeo Gaddi

    Taddeo Gaddi was an Italian painter, active during the early Renaissance....
     (frescoes in Cappella Baroncelli; Crucifixion in the sacristy; Last Supper in the refectory, considered his best work)
  • GiottoGiotto di Bondone

    Giotto di Bondone, better known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect....
     (frescoes in Cappella Peruzzi and righthand Cappella Bardi; possibly Coronation of the Virgin, altarpiece in Cappella Baroncelli)
  • Giovanni da MilanoFacts About Giovanni da Milano

    Giovanni da Milano was an Italian painter, known to be active in Florence and Rome between 1346 and 1369....
     (frescoes in Cappella Rinuccini) with Scenes of the Life of the VirginLife of the Virgin

    The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictori...
     and the Magdalen
  • Maso di BancoMaso di Banco

    Maso di Banco was an Italian painter of the 14th century, who worked in Florence, Italy....
     (frescoes in Cappella Bardi di Vernio) depicting Scenes from the life of St.Sylvester (1335-1338).
  • Henry MooreHenry Moore

    Henry Spencer Moore OM CH, was a British artist and sculptor....
     (statue of a warrior in the Primo Chiostro)
  • Andrea OrcagnaAndrea Orcagna Summary

    Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo, better known as Orcagna, was a Florentine painter, sculptor and architect....
     (frescoes largely disappeared during Vasari's remodelling, but some fragments remain in the refectory)
  • Antonio RossellinoAntonio Rossellino

    Antonio Gamberelli, nicknamed Antonio Rossellino for the colour of his hair, was a Florentine sculptor....
     (relief of the Madonna del Latte (1478) in the south aisle)
  • Bernardo RossellinoBernardo Rossellino

    Bernardo di Matteo Gamberelli, better known as Bernardo Rossellino, was a Florentine sculptor and architect, the elder...
     (Bruni's tomb)
  • Santi di TitoSanti di Tito

    Santi di Tito was an Italian painter of Late-Mannerist or proto-Baroque style, what is sometimes referred to as Contra-Manie...
     (Supper at Emmaus and Resurrection, altarpieces in the north aisle)
  • Giorgio Vasari (Michelangelo's tomb) with sculpture by Valerio Cioli, Iovanni Bandini, and Battista Lorenzi. Way to Calvary painted by Vasari.
  • Domenico VenezianoDomenico Veneziano

    Domenico Veneziano was an Italian painter, most probably born in Venice....
     (SS John and Francis in the refectory)


Once present in the church's Medici Chapel, but now split between the Florentine Galleries and the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum in Milan, is a polyptychPolyptych Overview

A polyptych generally refers to a painting which is divided into four or more sections, or panels....
 by Lorenzo di NiccolòLorenzo di Niccolò

Lorenzo di Niccol? was active in Florence from 1391 to 1412....
.

Funerary monuments



The Basilica became popular with Florentines as a place of worship and patronage and it became customary for greatly honoured Florentines to be buried or commemorated there. Some were in chapels "owned" by wealthy families such as the Bardi and Peruzzi. As time progressed, space was also granted to notable Italians from elsewhere. For 500 years monuments were erected in the church including those to:
  • Leon Battista Alberti (15th century architect and artistic theorist)
  • Vittorio AlfieriVittorio Alfieri Summary

    Count Vittorio Alfieri, was an Italian dramatist. ...
     (18th century poet and dramatist)
  • Eugenio BarsantiEugenio Barsanti

    Father Eugenio Barsanti, also named Nicolò, was the Italian inventor of the Internal combustion engine....
     (co-inventor of the internal combustion engineInternal combustion engine Overview

    The internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the burning of a fuel occurs in a confined space called a combustio...
    )
  • Lorenzo BartoliniLorenzo Bartolini Summary

    Lorenzo Bartolini was an Italian sculptor....
     (19th century sculptor)
  • Julie ClaryJulie Clary

    Julie Clary was the daughter of Franois Clary, a wealthy Marseille silk merchant and his second wife Franoise Rose Somis....
    , wife of Joseph BonaparteJoseph Bonaparte

    Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte, King of Naples, King of Spain...
    , and their daughter Charlotte Napoléone BonaparteCharlotte Napoléone Bonaparte

    Charlotte Bonaparte was the daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Emperor Napoleon I, and Julie Clary....
  • Leonardo BruniLeonardo Bruni

    Leonardo Bruni was a leading humanist, historian and a chancellor of Florence....
     (15th century chancellor of the Republic, scholar and historian)
  • DanteDante Alighieri

    Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante Alighieri or simply Dante, was an Italian Florentine poet....
     (actually buried in RavennaRavenna

    Ravenna is a city and commune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
    )
  • Ugo FoscoloUgo Foscolo

    Ugo Foscolo, Italian writer, was born at Zakynthos in the Ionian Isles on 6 February 1778....
     (19th century poet)
  • Galileo GalileiGalileo Galilei

    Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, astronomer, astrologer and philosopher who is closely associated with the scienti...
  • Giovanni GentileGiovanni Gentile Summary

    Giovanni Gentile was an Italian neo-Hegelian Idealist philosopher, a peer of Benedetto Croce....
     (20th century philosopher)
  • Lorenzo GhibertiLorenzo Ghiberti

    Lorenzo Ghiberti was an Italian artist of the early Renaissance best known for works in sculpture and metalworking....
  • Vittorio Ghiberti
  • Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò Machiavelli

    Niccol di Bernado dei Machiavelli was a political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright....
     by Innocenzo SpinazziInnocenzo Spinazzi

    Innocenzo Spinazzi was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo period active in Rome and Florence....
  • Carlo MarsuppiniCarlo Marsuppini

    Carlo Marsuppini, also known as Carlo Aretino and Carolus Arretinus, was a famous Renaissance humanist and chanc...
     (15th century chancellor of the Republic)
  • Michelangelo Buonarroti
  • Raffaello Morgheni (19th century engraver)
  • Gioacchino RossiniGioacchino Rossini

    Gioacchino Antonio Rossini was an Italian musical composer who wrote more than 30 operas as well as sacred music and chambe...
  • Louise of Stolberg-GedernPrincess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern

    Princess Louise Maximilienne Caroline Emmanuele of Stolberg-Gedern was the wife of the Jacobite claimant to the English and ...
     (wife of Charles Edward StuartCharles Edward Stuart

    Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Maria Stuart , was the exiled claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and ...
    )
  • Guglielmo MarconiGuglielmo Marconi

    Although Guglielmo Marconi is widely credited as the "Inventor of Radio", for some this title is controversial, and compet...
  • Enrico FermiEnrico Fermi

    Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on beta decay, the development of the first nuclear reactor, ...


External links

  • (in Italian)