Santa Maria Novella
The Santa Maria
Novella is a large church
located near Florence's train station. The photo to the left, taken
from the observation deck of the Duomo, gives some sense of the
size of the church. Santa Maria Novella was built by the Dominican
order between 1279 and 1357. Its most distinguishing feature is the
beautiful marble facade the covers the front and the eastern wall that
forms the outside of the courtyard area. The lower part of the facade
is Romanesque in design and was created by Jacopo Talenti, while the
upper part was completed a bit later by Leon Battista Alberti. The
photo to the right shows the facade of Santa Maria Novella,
while the photo to the lower left shows the facade as it extends the
length of the inner courtyard. The photo at the bottom right shows the
courtyard leading to the visitor's
entrance. As with many of the
Florentine churches and museums, photography is not permitted, in order
to preserve the
frescoes and painting.
Unfortunately, it is not a request that is universally respected.
Entering the main sanctuary, on the left-hand side of altar is a
newly-restored Massacio fresco of the Trinita. There are
numerous chapels within Santa Maria Novella (as is the case in
many of Florence's larger churches). Notable among these are the
Strozzi Chapel, located at the left transept, dedicated to St. Thomas
Aquinas and decorated with frescoes by Nardo di Cione depicting Heaven and Hell.
Dante is represented in The Last Judgment, located just
behind the altar. The Tornabouni Chapel contains Ghirlandaio's frescoes
on The life of St. John the Baptist. The Cappelone degli Spagnoli
or Spanish Chapel, which was used by courtiers of Cosimo I's wife,
features Andrea da Firenze's Triumph of the Catholic Doctrine.