Several wealthy Florentine families joined forces in the early years of the 15th century to build a new church on the site of one that had been burned down. They commissioned Brunelleschi, the city's famous architect, to design it. At the time of his death (1446) building work had progressed as far as the vaulting, but then it practically came to a standstill under various architects (bell-tower: Baccio d'Agnolo, 1503-1517) and was never completed wholly in accordance with the original plans. This is why the austere exterior of the building gives no hint of the fact that Santo Spirito inside is one of the purest Renaissance churches.
The facade of the church, which was consecrated in 1481, dates from the 18th century and is totally without decoration, just bare plaster. Its principal feature is its outline and the large round window in the center. There are three different-sized doors in the facade, one each for the nave and the two aisles.
The rose-window in the facade was designed by Perugino ("Descent of the Holy Ghost").
The interior is on the plan of a Latin cross 97m/318ft long, 32m/108ft wide, 58m/190ft in the transept, with a colonnaded central nave and side aisles and forty semicircular side-chapels backing on to straight walls. Thanks to its many works of art, tombs and monuments, Santo Spirito resembles a very impressive museum.
In the first chapel Michele Ghirlandaio's "Ascent of Calvary" and the window are worth seeing. The adjoining chapel has Raffaele di Carli's panel "Madonna in Majesty" (1505). In the next but one chapel along there is another panel, "Trinity worshipped by St Catherine and St Mary Magdalene", which is ascribed to Francesco Granacci.
The right arm of the transept holds the altarpiece that is the most important work in the church, the "Madonna and Child with Saints and Donors" by Filippino Lippi (1490).
In the apse, on the left-hand side, can be seen an "Annunciation" (15th century Florentine school) and a Nativity by the school of Ghirlandaio, while on the right there is a polyptych by Maso di Banco (ca. 1340).
In the left aisle is the entrance to a beautiful vestibule built by Cronaca (1492-1494) with a door leading into the sacristy, an octagonal chamber designed by Giuliano da Sangallo (1495/1496) and a masterpiece of European architecture.
The entrance to the Cenacolo di Santo Spirito is to the left of the church. This refectory is all that remains of the old Augustinian monastery, and it contains the great fresco of the Last Supper (ca. 1360). This was attributed to Andrea Orcagna by Ghiberti, a view confirmed after considerable research and restoration. Although badly damaged, it is one of the sublimest 14th century works of art in Florence.
Another door in the vestibule leads into the first cloister, which is by Giulio and Alfonso Parigi (ca. 1600). The second cloister, built by Ammanati between 1564 and 1569, is usually not open to the public because it is used for administrative purposes.

The Palazzo Pitti ranks as Florence's most importance palazzo together with the Palazzo Vecchio (they are joined by a passage) and the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. Its size is impressive - it covers a surface area of 32,000 sq. m/344,320 sq. ft, and its facade is 205m/224yd across, and 36m/118ft high at the center - and so is its architecture, an effect that is heightened by the way the square fronting it slopes slightly uphill towards it.
The art gallery (Galleria Palatina or Pitti) in the Palazzo Pitti is one of the most important in the world, almost on a par, so far as works of art are concerned, with the collections of the Uffizi. The palace also houses the Museo degli Argenti (Silver Museum), the Galleria d'Arte Moderna (Gallery of Modern Art), the Contini Bonacassi collection, the Museo delle Carrozze (Carriage Museum) and the Appartamenti ex Reali (Royal Apartments). In the adjoining Palazzina della Meridiana are the Galleria del Costume and the Collezione Contini Bonacossi.
A respected and wealthy Florentine merchant family, the Pittis were equal to the Medici in terms of pride and ambition. Consequently in 1447 Luca Pitti laid plans for a magnificent palace on the left bank of the Arno a little above the town. The architect Luca Fancelli was in charge of the preliminary work (1457-1466), possibly based on designs by Brunelleschi. Between 1558 and 1570 the wife of Cosimo I, Eleonora of Toledo, who had acquired the palace in 1549, had it completely renovated and considerably enlarged by Bartolomeo Ammanati, who was followed by other architects, interior designers and artists.
The new owners, the Medici, and Cosimo III in particular, purchased valuable pictures to decorate the apartments. These form the basis of the Galleria Palatina. Classical and contemporary statues were also added.
The Palazzo Pitti became the residence of the Italian kings (1864-1871) when Florence was the capital of a partially united Italy. In 1919 King Victor Emanuel III finally gave it to the city, which had the museums enlarged.
Architecture at its most creative can be seen in the facade of the palace with its massive ashlar stonework, high-vaulted windows and stepped storys, and in the Rondò di Bacco, the Mannerist courtyard by Ammanati (1558-1570), looking like a grotto enlivened by "rustication". Adjoining it is the terrace of the Boboli Gardens with its fountains and statuary.
p.zza Pitti
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opening time: 8.15 - 16.20
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The Garden that extends from the hill behind the Pitti Palace as far as Porta Romana, reached its current extension and appearance, becoming one of the largest and most elegant Italian style gardens, through several stages of enlargement and restructuring work carried out at different times. The first works initially affected the area that was closer to the palace, after the building had been purchased by Cosimo I de’ Medici and by his wife Eleonora di Toledo, who had chosen this place for new grand ducal palace. The initial plan was drawn by Niccolò Tribolo, although the works were completed, after his death in 1550 by other architects including also Giorgio Vasari (from 1554 to 1561) along with Bartolomeo Ammannati and Bernardo Buontalenti under the reign of Francis I, who succeeded to his father Cosimo.
The Medici and the Lorraine families continued to enrich and enlarge the garden also in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Besides adding lovely meadows, avenues, small groves and beautiful panoramic views, they made the garden more precious by including extraordinary decorative complexes, thus forming an outdoor museum that exhibited both Roman and 16th and 17th century statues.
The first phase led to the creation of an Amphitheatre adjoined to the hill behind the palace. The early amphitheatre, initially formed by "edges and evergreen meadows", was later replaced by a stone one decorated with statutes based on Roman myths such as the Fountain of the Ocean sculptured by Giambologna, then transferred to another location within the same garden, the small Grotto of Madama, and the Large Grotto, which was begun by Vasari and ended by Ammannati and Buontalenti between 1583 and 1593. Despite the fact that it is currently undergoing complex restoration work (1998) due to the damages suffered over centuries these statues continue to be remarkable examples of Mannerism architecture and culture. Decorated internally and externally with stalatites and originally equipped with water plays and a luxuriant vegetation, the fountain is divided into three main sections. The first one was frescoed to create the illusion of a natural grotto, that is a natural refuge to allow shepherds to protect themselves from wild animals, and originally housed the Prisoners of Michelangelo, which were moved to this location after they had become part of the Medici collection (the original statues have now been replaced by copies). The rooms that follow exhibit valuable sculptures like The Bathing Venus of Giambologna and the group of Paris and Hellen of Vincenzo de Rossi.
Other fine works are also situated in the area above the amphitheatre. This is the location of the fountain known as the Fountain of the “Fork” or Neptune's fountain, named after the sculpture by Stoldo Lorenzi located in the middle of the fountain that appears to be holding a large trident. In the park we also find the large statues of the Abundance, located on the top of the hill, started by Giambologna, to represent Giovanna of Austria, the wife of Francis I. The statue was actually ended in 1637 as allegorical figure. Walking through the garden towards Porta Romana, after the so-called Prato dell’Uccellare, we find the Viottolone, a large avenue flanked by cypresses and statues that leads to the open space of the Isolotto, begun by Giulio and Alfonso Parigi in 1618. In the centre of the space, you can admire the fountain of the Ocean by Giambologna surrounded by other three sculptures representing the rivers Nile, Gange and Euphrates. All around there are other statues based on classic and popular subjects (belonging to the 17th and 18th centuries) like those that show groups of children playing traditional games.
The House of Lorraine made further additions in the 18th century, such as the Kaffeehaus (1775), the Lemon House (1777-8), both built by Zanobi del Rosso and the Palazzina della Meridiana begun in 1776 by Gaspero Paoletti. The Egyptian Obelisk brought from Luxor was placed in this location in 1789.

This large church stands in the Piazza of the same name, nowadays used for parking, in a busy working-class quarter of Florence. The church, begun in 1268, was not completed until 1476, as can be seen from the fact that there are both Romanesque and Gothic elements along the sides. Remodeled in the 16th and 17th centuries, it was so badly damaged by fire in 1771 that it had to be rebuilt (by Ruggieri and Mannaioni, until 1782). The ground plan of the church is a Latin cross with a single nave flanked by various chapels. Besides the Brancacci Chapel (see below) Santa Maria del Carmine also owes its fame to the Baroque Cappella Corsini by Pierfrancesco Silvani (1675-1683; left arm of transept), with a fresco of the Apotheosis of St Andrea Corsini by Luca Giordano (1682) in the dome. The chapel contains the tombs of Neri and Pietro Corsini with three high-reliefs in marble by Giovanni Battista Foggini.

The entrance to the Cappella Brancacci is on the right of the church of SantaMaria del Carmine. Passing through the cloister added to the church in the early 17th century we come to the chapel, which Felice Brancacci, a wealthy Florentine merchant, had decorated with frescoes in 1428. Mainly the work of Masaccio and Masolino, they represent an important stage in the development of European painting. In his frescoes Masaccio took art beyond the richness of form and color of the medieval Gothic and developed the ideas initiated by Giotto. Following the tradition of Masaccio and Masolino, Filippino Lippi painted the five lower frescoes.
Major Renaissance artists studied the works in the Brancacci Chapel on account of their confidence in the use of perspective, the austere realism of the characters depicted, the subtle characterisation of the faces, the freedom and intensity of expression. Sadly disfigured by previous attempts at restoration, the frescoes have recently been restored to their original colors.
The themes they represent, top row, from left to right, are: Adam and Eve being driven out of Eden, the Tribute Money (both by Masaccio), St Peter Preaching, Peter Baptising the Neophytes, Peter and John healing the Lame and raising Tabitha, the Temptation of Adam and Eve. Below, Peter visited by Paul in Prison, Peter raising the Son of Theophilus, Peter Preaching, Peter (with John) healing the Sick, Peter and John distributing Alms, Crucifixion of Peter, Peter and Paul before the Proconsul, Release of Peter from Prison.
Michelangelo is said to have become so enraged during an argument in front of these pictures that his nose was broken in the ensuing fracas.

A short walk up from the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence brings the visitor to the square in front of San Miniato al Monte, with another superb view over the city. The church and monastery provide very good examples of the Romanesque Tuscan architecture of the late 11th and 12th centuries, showing the closeness of the links to Classical Roman in its exterior and interior.
The name commemorates St Minias, who died a martyr in Florence around 250 A.D.. The monastery church was built over his grave, probably around 1018 or 1013. It was not actually completed until the early 13th century and originally belonged to Benedictine nuns, but between 1373 and 1552 was used by Olivetan monks, as it is today.
The gleaming white and green facade (ca. 1100), with its triangular gable, is clad with marble panels which, with the great Romanesque-Roman arches, articulate the facade in geometric patterns of squares, rectangles, circles, etc. in various combinations. On the upper story there is a late 13th century mosaic of Christ between the Virgin and San Miniato. The gable is topped by a gilded eagle with a pack of wool in its claws, symbolizing the wealthy clothmerchants' guild, long-term patrons of San Miniato.
After the old Campanile collapsed in 1499 a new one was begun in 1518 but never entirely completed. In the troubled times of the early 16th century it served the Florentines, including Michelangelo, as defense against the troops of the Emperor.
The monastery church's impressive interior is of unusually harmonious proportions, with its decorative wall inlay, and takes the form of an early Christian basilica with alternating columns and pillars dividing nave and two aisles, lacking a transept but with a splendid timbered roof (repainted in the 19th century). The raised choir, traditionally over the grave of St Minias, originally allowed the entering pilgrim a direct view into the crypt and sight of the bones of the saint, but this is now blocked by the Renaissance tabernacle.
Although San Miniato is basically a medieval Romanesque church building it is furnished with two outstanding examples of Renaissance art, Michelozzo's Cappella del Crocifisso at the end of the nave, and the Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal, added on the left aisle and by Antonio Manetti with sculpture by Rossellino.
The mosaic in the apse of Christ Pantocrator flanked by the Virgin and St Miniato shows considerable Byzantine influence, and dates originally from 1297 but has since been considerably restored, and was totally renewed in the late 19th century
The chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal (Cappella del Cardinale di Portogallo), on the left aisle, was commissioned by the Portuguese King Alfons V as a monument to his nephew, and built by Manetti between 1461 and 1466, very much on the lines of Brunelleschi's Old Sacristy for San Lorenzo. The decor brings together Christian and Classical concepts, with Antonio Rossellino's sarcophagus recalling a Roman Mithraic sacrifice, but decorated with putti and angels. The recumbent figure of the deceased is aligned with the empty judge's throne opposite as a warning of the Last Judgment. This monument, in its entirety, should be regarded a forerunner of Michelangelo's sarcophagi in the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo. The terracotta sculpture (Holy Ghost, four cardinal virtues) is by Luca della Robbia.
Michelozzo's barrel-vaulted Cappella del Crocifisso (1448) in the nave was commissioned by Piero de Medici. On the back wall is an altarpiece by Agnolo Gaddi (ca. 1396) showing scenes from the martyrdom of St Minias. It is interesting to see how the proud donor has set his stamp everywhere in this relatively small space. Piero's sign was a ring with an uncut diamond (symbolic of durability and toughness) and a bunch of feathers. These emblems are reproduced throughout the frieze and in the bronze screen. The back is embellished with an eagle, symbol of the guild, indicating that the guild was the builder and Piero de Medici was only reluctantly allowed to show that he was the donor. The coffered ceiling is in glazed terracotta, its light-blue and white coloring identifying it as the work of Renaissance artist Luca della Robbia.
Steps on the right and left of the Capella del Crocifisso lead down into the hall crypt which has seven aisles with groin vaults and frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi depicting Saints and Prophets.
The sacristy, reached from the right hand side below the apse, contains Spinello Aretino's masterpiece, his "Life of St Benedict" (post 1387). A doorway in the sacristy leads to the cloister with frescoes by Andrea del Castagno and Paolo Uccello.
The massive Palazzo dei Vescovi, to the right of the church, was begun by Bishop Andrea dei Mozzi in 1295 and completed by his successor Antonio d'Orso in 1320. It served the Bishops of Florence as their summer residence, high above the city, until it became part of the monastery in 1534. Subsequently also used as a military hospital, a Jesuit college and, on occasions, for concerts, it is now back in the hands of the Olivetans.