Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated just across the main railway station which shares its name. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Firenze Santa Maria Novella or Stazione di Santa Maria Novella - Firenze Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The Order of Preachers ( Latin: Ordo Praedicatorum) after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is
The church, the adjoining cloister, and chapterhouse contain a store of art treasures and funerary monuments. Especially famous are frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance. This article is about Gothic art See also Gothic architecture Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that lasted about 200 Renaissance painting bridges the period of European art history between the art of the Middle Ages and Baroque art. They were financed through the generosity of the most important Florentine families, who ensured themselves of funerary chapels on consecrated ground.
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History
This church was called Novella (New) because it was built on the site of the 9th-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne. In Christianity, an oratory is a Room for Prayer, from the Latin orare, to pray When the site was assigned to Dominican Order in 1221, they decided to build a new church and an adjoining cloister. The Order of Preachers ( Latin: Ordo Praedicatorum) after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is The church was designed by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi. Building began in the mid-13th century (about 1246), and was finished about 1360 under the supervision of Friar Iacopo Talenti with the completion of the Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and sacristy. Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which See also Gothic art Gothic architecture is a style of Architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. A campanile &ndash pronounced /kampaˈnile/ &ndash is especially in Italy, a free-standing Bell tower, often adjacent to a church At that time, only the lower part of the Tuscan gothic facade was finished. See also Gothic art Gothic architecture is a style of Architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. The three portals are spanned by round arches, while the rest of the lower part of the facade is spanned by blind arches, separated by pilasters, with below Gothic pointed arches, striped in green and white, capping noblemen's tombs. This same design continues in the adjoining wall around the old churchyard. The church was consecrated in 1420.
On a commission from Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai, a local textile merchant, Leone Battista Alberti designed the upper part of the inlaid black and white marble facade of the church (1456-1470). Leon Battista Alberti ( February 14, 1404 &ndash April 25, 1472) was an Italian author artist Architect, Poet He was already famous as the architect of the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini, but even more for his seminal treatise on architecture De Re Aedificatoria, based on the book De Architectura of the classical Roman writer Vitruvius. The Tempio Malatestiano is the Cathedral church of Rimini, Italy. Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c 80–70 BC died after c 15 BC was a Roman Writer, Architect and Engineer (possibly praefectus fabrum Alberti had also design the facade for the Rucellai Palace in Florence. Palazzo Rucellai is a fifteenth-century Palace in Florence, Italy, designed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and executed
Alberti attempted to bring the ideals of humanist architecture, proportion and classically-inspired detailing, to bear on the design while also creating harmony with the already existing medieval part of the facade. His contribution consists of a broad frieze decorated with squares and everything above it, including the four white-green pilasters and a round window, crowned by a pediment with the Dominican solar emblem, and flanked on both sides by enormous S-curved volutes. In Architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an Entablature and may be plain or &ndash in the Ionic or Corinthian order &ndash A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure ( Entablature) typically supported by A volute is a spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column The four columns with Corinthian capitals on the lower part of the facade were also added. The pediment and the frieze are clearly inspired by the antiquity, but the S-curved scrolls in the upper part are new and without precedent in antiquity. The scrolls (or variations of them), found in churches all over Italy, all find their origin here in the design of this church.
The frieze below the pediment carries the name of the patron : IOHAN(N)ES ORICELLARIUS PAU(LI) F(ILIUS) AN(NO) SAL(UTIS) MCCCCLXX (Giovanni Rucellai son of Paolo in the blessed year 1470).
Interior
The vast interior is based on a basilica plan, designed as a Latin cross and is divided into a nave, two aisles with stained-glass windows and a short transept. The large nave is 100 metres long and gives an impression of austerity. There is a trompe l'oeil-effect by which this nave towards the apse seems longer than its actual length. Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English ( French: "trick the eye" tʁɔ̃p lœj is an Art technique involving extremely APSE standing for Ada Programming Support Environment is a program or set of programs to support Software development in the Ada programming language. The slender compound piers between the nave and the aisles are ever closer when you go deeper into the nave. The ceiling in the vault consists pointed arches with the four diagonal buttresses in black and white.
The interior also contains corinthian columns that were inspired by the Classical era of Greek and Roman times.
The stained-glass windows date from the 14th and 15th century, such as 15th century Madonna and Child and St. John and St. Philip (designed by Filippino Lippi), both in the Filippo Strozzi Chapel. Filippo Lippi (c 1457 &ndash April 1504 was a well-known painter working during the High Renaissance in Florence, Italy. Filippo Strozzi the Elder ( July 4, 1428 - May 14, 1491) was an Italian banker and statesman a member of the rich Strozzi family of Some stained glass windows have been damaged in the course of centuries and had to be replaced. The one on the facade, a depiction of the Coronation of Mary dates from the 14th century, based on a design of Andrea Bonaiuti.
The pulpit, commissioned by the Rucellai family in 1443, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and executed by his adopted child Andrea Calvalcanti. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – April 15, 1446) was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. This pulpit has a particular historical significance, because from this pulpit the first attack came on Galileo Galilei, leading eventually to his indictment. Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher
The Holy Trinity, situated almost halfway in the left aisle, is a pioneering early renaissance work of Masaccio, showing his new ideas about perspective and mathematical proportions. The Holy Trinity with the Virgin and Saint John and donors (Santa Trinità is a famous Fresco by the Early Italian Renaissance painter Masaccio Masaccio (born Tommaso Cassai or in some accounts Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Mone; December 21, 1401 &ndash autumn 1428 was the first great Its meaning for the art of painting can easily be compared by the importance of Brunelleschi for architecture and Donatello for sculpture. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – April 15, 1446) was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. Donatello ( Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi; c 1386 &ndash December 13, 1466) was a famous early Renaissance Italian The patrons are the kneeling figures of the judge and his wife, members of the Lenzi family. The cadaver tomb below carries the epigram: "I was once what you are, and what I am you will become". A cadaver tomb (or " Memento mori Tomb " Latin for "reminder of death" is a Church monument or Tomb featuring An epigram is a short Poem, often with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement
Of particular note in the right aisle is the Tomba della Beata Villana, a monument by Bernardo Rossellino in 1451. Bernardo di Matteo Gamberelli (1409 &ndash 1464 better known as Bernardo Rossellino, was an Italian sculptor and architect the elder brother of the painter In the same aisle, you can find the tombs of the Bishop of Fiesole by Tino di Camaino and another one by Nino Pisano. Tino di Camaino (c 1280 &ndash c 1337 was an Italian sculptor Nino Pisano (fl 1349 &ndash 1368 was an Italian sculptor the son of Andrea Pisano.
Filippo Strozzi Chapel
The Filippo Strozzi Chapel is situated on the right side of the main altar. The Strozzi Chapel was the place were the first tale of the Decamerone by Giovanni Boccaccio began, when seven ladies decided to leave the town, and flee from the Black Plague to the countryside. The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia The series of frescoes from Filippino Lippi depict the life of Philip the Apostle and James the Apostle. Saint Philip was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who proselytized in For people and places called Saint James, see the Saint James disambiguation page They were completed in 1502. On the right wall is the fresco St Philip Driving the Dragon from the Temple of Hieropolis and in the lunette above it, the Crucifixion of St Philip. On the left wall is the fresco St John the Evangelist Resuscitating Druisana and in the lunette above it The Torture of St John the Evangelist. Adam, Noah, Abraham and Jacob are represented on the ribbed vault. The intersection of two or three Barrel vaults produces a rib-vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns Behind the altar is the tomb of Filippo Strozzi with a sculpture by Benedetto da Maiano (1441). Benedetto da Maiano ( 1442 - May 27 1497) was an Italian sculptor of the early Renaissance.
The bronze crucifix on the main altar is by Giambologna (16th century). Giambologna, born as Jean Boulogne, also known as Giovanni Da Bologna and Giovanni Bologna ( 1529 - August 13 1608) was The choir (or the Cappella Tornabuoni) contains another series of famous frescoes, by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his apprentice the young Michelangelo (1485-1490). The Tornabuoni Chapel (Italian Cappella Tornabuoni) is the main chapel (or Chancel) in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 &ndash January 11, 1494) was a renowned Florentine Renaissance painter a contemporary of Botticelli Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime One of them by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all They represent themes from the life of the Virgin and John the Baptist, situated in Florence of the late 15th century. Several members of important Florentine families were portrayed on these frescoes. The vaults are covered with paintings of the Evangelists. On the back wall are the paintings Saint Dominic burns the Heretical Books and Saint Peter's Martyrdom, the Annunciation, and Saint John goes into the Desert.
The stained-glass windows were made in 1492 by the Florentine artist Alessandro Agolanti, known also as il Bidello, based on cartoons by Ghirlandaio.
Gondi Chapel
This chapel, designed by Giuliano da Sangallo, is situated on the left side of the main altar and dates from the end of the 13th century. Here, on the back wall, is the famous wooden Crucifix by Brunelleschi, one of his very few sculptures. The legend goes that he was so disgusted by the "primitive" Crucifix of Donatello in the Santa Croce church, that he made this one. The vault contains fragments of frescoes by 13th-century Greek painters. The polychrome marble decoration was applied by Giuliano da Sangallo (ca. Giuliano da Sangallo (c 1443 – 1516 was an Italian sculptor architect and Military engineer active during the Italian Renaissance 1503). The stained-glass window is recent and dates from the 20th century.
Cappella Strozzi di Mantova
The Cappella Strozzi di Mantova is situated at the end of the left transept. The frescoes were commissioned by Tommasso Strozzi, an ancestor of Filippo Strozzi, to Nardo di Cione (1350-1357). Nardo di Cione, (active 1343 — ca1365 was an Italian painter, Sculptor and Architect from Florence. The frescoes are inspired by Dante's Divina Commedia: Last Judgment (on the back wall; including a portrait of Dante), Hell (on the right wall) and paradise (on the left wall). The Divine Comedy The main altarpiece of The Redeemer with the Madonna and Saints was done by his brother Andrea di Cione, better kwown as Orcagna. Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo (c 1308 &ndash August 25 1368) better known as Orcagna, was an Italian painter sculptor and architect The large stained-glass window on the back was made from a cartoon by the brothers Andrea and Nardo di Cione. Nardo di Cione, (active 1343 — ca1365 was an Italian painter, Sculptor and Architect from Florence.
Della Pura Chapel
The Della Pura Chapel is situated north of the old cemetery. It dates from 1474 and was constructed with Renaissance columns. It was restored in 1841 by Baccani. On the left side there is a lunette with a 14th century fresco Madonna and Child and St. In architecture a lunette (French lunette "little moon" and also "glasses" is a half-moon shaped space either masonry or void Catherine. There is a wooden crucifix by Baccio da Montelupo (1501) on the front altar. Baccio da Montelupo (1469 - 1523(? born Bartolomeo di Giovanni d'Astore dei Sinibaldi, was a sculptor of the Italian Renaissance.
Rucellai Chapel
The Rucellai Chapel, at the end of the right aisle, dates from the 1300s. It houses, besides the tomb of Paolo Rucellai (15th century) and the marble statue of the Madonna and the Child by Nino Pisano, several art treasures such as remains of frescoes by the Maestro di Santa Cecilia (end 13th - beginning 14th century). The panel on the left wall, the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine, was painted by Giuliano Bugiardini (with possibly assistance by Michelangelo). Giuliano Bugiardini ( January 29, 1475 - February 17, 1577) was an Italian painter of the late- Renaissance period known as The bronze tomb, in the centre of the floor, was made by Ghiberti in 1425.
Bardi Chapel
The Bardi Chapel, the second chapel on the right of the apse, was founded by Riccardo Bardi and dates from early 14th century. The high-relief on a pillar on the right depicts Saint Gregory blessing Riccardo Bardi. The walls show us some early 1300s frescoes attributed to Spinello Aretino. Spinello Aretino (c 1350 &ndash c 1410 was an Italian painter, the son of a Florentine named Luca who had taken refuge in Arezzo in 1310 when The Madonna del Rosario on the altar is by Giorgio Vasari (1568)
Sacristy
The sacristy, at the end of the left aisle, was built as the Chapel of the Annunciation by the Cavalcanti family in 1380. Giorgio Vasari ( 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian painter and Architect, who is today famous Now it houses again, after a period of fourtain years of cleaning and renovation, the enormous painted Crucifix with the Madonna and John the Evangelist, an early work by Giotto. He had rediscovered the ideal proportions for the human body, as established by the Roman architect Vitruvius (1st century AD, see also : Vitruvian Man). The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned Drawing with accompanying notes created by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1487 as recorded in one of his journals The sacristy is also embellished by a glazed terra cotta and a marble font, masterpieces by Giovanni della Robbia (1498). Glazed architectural terra-cotta is a Ceramic Masonry Building material popular in the United States from the late 19th century until the Giovanni della Robbia (1469 - 1529 was an Italian Renaissance Ceramic artist The cupboards were designed by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1593. Bernardo Buontalenti, byname of Bernardo Delle Girandole (1536? – June 25 or 26 1608 was an Italian stage designer architect theatrical designer The paintings on the wall are ascribed to Giorgio Vasari and some other comtemporary Florentine painters. The large Gothic window with three mullions at the back wall dates from 1386 and was based on cartoons by Niccolò di Pietro Gerini
Spanish Chapel
The Spanish Chapel (or Cappellone degli Spagnoli) is the former chapterhouse of the monastery. It is situated at the north side of the green Cloister (Chiostro Verde). It was commissioned by Mico Guidalotti as his funerary chapel. Construction started c. 1343 and was finished in 1355. It was called "Spanish Chapel", because Cosimo I assigned it to Eleonora of Toledo and her Spanish retinue. Cosimo I de' Medici (June 12 1519 &ndash April 21 1574 was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574 reigning as the first Grand The Spanish Chapel contains a smaller Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament. The Spanish Chapel is decorated with 14th century frescoes by Andrea Bonaiuti. Andrea da Firenze can also refer to a Quattrocento painter see Andrea da Bonaiuto. The large fresco on the right wall depicts the Allegory of the Active and Triumphant Church and of the Dominican order. It is especially interesting because it shows in the background the original designs of the Duomo of Florence by Arnolfo di Cambio (before Brunelleschi's dome was built). The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the Cathedral church ( Duomo) of Florence, Italy. Arnolfo di Cambio (c 1240 &ndash 1300/1310 was an Italian Architect and sculptor. This fresco also contains portraits of pope Benedict IX, cardinal Friar Niccolò Albertini, count Guido di Poppi, Arnolfo di Cambio and the poet Petrarca. Pope Benedict IX (c 1012 &ndash 1055 1065 or 1085 born Theophylactus, was Pope from 1032 to 1044 again in 1045 and finally from 1047 to 1048 the only Nicolò Albertini (c 1250 &ndash 27 April, 1321) was an Italian Dominican, statesman and Cardinal. The frescoes on the other walls represent scenes from the lifes of Christ and Saint Peter, The Triumph of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Allegory of the Sciences. The five-panelled polyptych on the altar of the Madonna Enthroned With and Child and Four Saints was made by Bernardo Daddi and dates from 1344. A polyptych (from the Greek polu- "many" + ptychē "fold" generally refers to a Painting (usually Panel painting Bernardo Daddi (ca 1280 - 1348 was an early Italian Renaissance painter and apprentice of Giotto.
Architecture
Giorgio Vasari was the architect, commissioned in 1567 by Grand Duke Cosimo I, for the first remodelling of the church, which included removing its original rood screen and loft, and adding six chapels between the columns. Cosimo I de' Medici (June 12 1519 &ndash April 21 1574 was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574 reigning as the first Grand The rood screen (also choir screen or chancel screen) is a common feature in late Medieval parish Church architecture. An armillary sphere (on the left) and a gnomon (on the right) were added to the end blind arches of the lower façade by Ignazio Danti, astronomer of Cosimo I, in 1572. The gnomon is the part of a Sundial that casts the Shadow. Gnomon (γνώμων is an Ancient Greek word meaning "indicator" "one who Ignazio (Egnatio or Egnazio Danti (born Pellegrino Rainaldi Danti) (April 1536 - October 19, 1586) was an Italian Priest The second remodelling was designed by Enrico Romoli, and was carried out between 1858 and 1860.
The square in front the church was used by Cosimo I for the yearly chariot race (Palio dei Cocchi). This custom existed between 1563 and late in the 19th century. The two obelisks marked the start and the finish of the race. An obelisk (from Greek ὀβελίσκος - obeliskos, diminutive of ὀβελός - obelos, "spit nail pointed pillar" They were set up to imitate an antique Roman circus. The Circus Maximus ( Latin for greatest circus, in Italian Circo Massimo) is an ancient Hippodrome and mass entertainment The obelisks rest on bronze tortoises, made in 1608 by the sculptor Giambologna.
List of artworks
Artists who produced items for the church include:
- Baccio D'Agnolo - wood carvings
- Bronzino - the Miracle of Jesus
- Filippo Brunelleschi - The Crucifix (between 1410 and 1425)
- Tino da Camaino - Bust of St. Baccio D'Agnolo, born Bartolomeo Baglioni ( May 19 1462 - March 6 1543) was an Italian Woodcarver, sculptor Agnolo di Cosimo ( November 17, 1503 &ndash November 23, 1572) usually known as Il Bronzino, or Agnolo Bronzino (mistaken Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – April 15, 1446) was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. Tino di Camaino (c 1280 &ndash c 1337 was an Italian sculptor Antoninus (in terra cotta); the Tomb of the Bishop of Fiesole
- Nardo di Cione - frescoes of the Divine Judgment
- Duccio - Rucellai Madonna
- Lorenzo Ghiberti - tombstone of Leonardo Dati (1423)
- Domenico Ghirlandaio - frescoes (late 15th century) in the Tornabuoni Chapel, design of the stained-glass window
- Filippino Lippi - frescoes in the Strozzi Chapel, depicting the life of Philip the Apostle; stained glass window
- Benedetto da Maiano - the Tomb of Filippo Strozzi (1491) at the backside of the Strozzi Chapel. Nardo di Cione, (active 1343 — ca1365 was an Italian painter, Sculptor and Architect from Florence. Duccio di Buoninsegna (c 1255-1260 &ndash c 1318-1319 was one of the most influential Italian artists of his time Lorenzo Ghiberti (born Lorenzo di Bartolo) (1378 &ndash December 1, 1455) was an Italian artist of the early Renaissance best known Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 &ndash January 11, 1494) was a renowned Florentine Renaissance painter a contemporary of Botticelli The Tornabuoni Chapel (Italian Cappella Tornabuoni) is the main chapel (or Chancel) in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy Filippo Lippi (c 1457 &ndash April 1504 was a well-known painter working during the High Renaissance in Florence, Italy. Benedetto da Maiano ( 1442 - May 27 1497) was an Italian sculptor of the early Renaissance.
- Giacomo Marchetti : Martyrdom of Saint Laurence.
- Masaccio - The Trinity
- Nino Pisano - Madonna with Child (1368)
- Bernardo Rossellino - Monument to the Beata Villana (1451)
- Santi di Tito - Lazarus Raised from Death
- Paolo Uccello - frescoes in the cloisters
- Giorgio Vasari - Madonna of the Rosary (1568)
External links
- Santa Maria Novella, Florence virtual reality movie and pictures
- Santa Maria Novella Museum and Cloisters
- Paradoxplace Santa Maria Novella Photo & History Page
- Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is at coordinates Coordinates:
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