Santa Croce in Florence is one of the oldest Franciscan basilicas and one of the bigger. Beside the church stands the monastery with two cloisters, the novices’rooms, the Chapter House, better known as the Pazzi Chapel, and the refectory, where now the Museum is located.
The basilica wads built in 1294 and since then has lived seven centuries of history by increasing its artistic heritage.
Everything in the Basilica has got an exceptional value
: the frescoes, which Giotto, Maso di Banco, Taddeo Gaddi, Giovanni da Milano, Agnolo Gaddi contributed to; the crosses and monuments and the beautiful fourteenth-century stained glass windows; its Renaissance architectural structures planned by Michelozzo and Brunelleschi; the fifteenth-sculpted tombs, altars, pulpits, which are works of the greatest Florentine masters such as Donatello, Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano, Benedetto da Maiano.
The construction of the tomb of Michelangelo confirmed the Basilica to have a vocation to accommodate “the urns of the strong” and to become the Pantheon of Italian glories.
During the nineteen century tombs of private people inspired by a feeling of affection of the family found place in the church and in the cloister. Those monuments inspired the famous The Sepulchres by Ugo Foscolo, one of the major poets of Italian Literature.
The Opera di Santa Croce takes care of the maintenance and the preservation of this national monument, enabling million of visitors to enjoy and appreciate such a concentration f valuable pieces of art.
Opening Times:
Weekdays 9.30-17.30
Sundays and Catholic holidays: 13.00-17.30
Easter Monday, April 25, May 1, June 2: 9.30-17.30
Last admission 17.00
Closure days:
January 1, Easter, St. Anthony of Padua (June 13), St. Francis (October 4), 25 and 26 December. During the Florentine Historic Football Matches
Ticket prices:
Full 5.00
Tickets can be purchased only at the ticket office of the Opera, on the porch of Largo Bargellini.
Click here for accommodation in Florence.
