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. 

Chapels in Santa Maria Novella [Click on Photos to Enlarge, Hit Browser "Back" Arrow to Return to this Page]			Artwork
Strozzi Chapel	Tornabuoni Chapel	Cappelone degli Spagnoli	Massacio's Trinita, Santa Maria Novella
Last Judgment	Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple		Triumph of the Catholic Doctrine
Nardo di Cione West wall of Strozzi Chapel	Ghirlandaio's Frescoes on the Life of John the Baptist Tornabouni Chapel		Andrea da Firenze Cappelone degli Spagnoli