Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

A visit to Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated just across the main railway station. Chronologically it is the first great basilica in Florence

This church was called Novella (New) because it was built on the site of the 9th-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne. When the site was assigned to Dominican Order in 1221, they decided to build a new church and an adjoining cloister. The church was designed by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto da Firenze and Fra Ristoro da Campi. Building began in the mid-13th century (about 1246), and was finished about 1360 under the supervision of Fra Iacopo Talenti with the completion of the Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and sacristy. 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).

Giorgio Vasari was the architect, commissioned in 1567 by Grand Duke Cosimo I, for the first remodelling of the church. The second remodelling was designed by Enrico Romoli, and was carried out between 1858 and 1860.

Artists who produced items for the church include Filippo Brunelleschi, Bronzino, Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, and Giorgio Vasari.