culptures. I could not stop going backward and forwards watching them. The right aisle houses the majestic grave of Michelangelo designed by Giorgio Vasari. It represents three crying women corresponding to the three Arts: Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. There is also the cenotaph of Dante Alighieri (he is buried in Ravenna) and other wonderful funeral monuments. The left aisle, instead, holds the grave of the great Galileo Galilei.
5. Tombs on the floor
If you look down at the floor you can see hundreds of marble slabs. They are the floor tombs of the aristocrats of the past.
6. Cimabue Crucifix
The Cimabue Crucifix is another gem of the Basilica. During the tragic flood of 1966, in the suburb of Santa Croce, the water reached a level of five meters and two centimeters of highness (16,47 feet). The crucifix, losing more than 60% of the paint on the surface, became one of the symbols of this natural disaster.
7. The Pazzi Chapel
Walking out of the church you get into the two cloisters. One has a rectangular shape, the other has a square shape. Here you find the Pazzi Chapel, a piece of art designed by Brunelleschi. He got inspiration from the Pantheon in Rome to create it. Don’t forget to take a picture with the bell tower and the sky as a background.
8. The Last Supper and the Life Tree
The Museum of the Opera of Santa Croce houses many frescoes, sculptures, wooden furniture, sketches, and reliefs. The last room of the museum is the refectory where you find the painting of the Last Supper and the Life Tree made by Taddeo Gaddi, one of the best pupils of Giotto.
Book a guided tour of Santa Croce
Other things to do in Florence
If you are planning to visit Florence, I also recommend you to have a look at these posts about the “Birth Land of Renaissance“:
- 10 most important places in Florence
- 10 unusual things to do in Florence by our reader Mrs. Anne Harrison.
- The F-Lights Florence Light Festival
- The Splendor of Palazzo Borghese of Florence
- Good Friday in Florence, the Tuscan experience of our friend and reader Joe.
- Self-Planned walking tour of Florence by Neha & Abhishek of “A Revolving Compass”
- Michelangelo’s David and the life of the Divine One
- How to get from Florence to Cinque Terre
I hope this post helps you to have an idea about Santa Croce in Florence, one of the most important places in the Florentine history of art. If you have any questions or curiosity, just ask.
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CIMABUE CRUCIFIX – PHOTO CREDITS: DENNIS JARVIS