Florence, Italy
Basilica of Santa Croce
The principal Franciscan church in Florence, where Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli are buried, and where Giotto's frescoes of St. Francis still glow on the chapel walls.
They call it the Pantheon of Italy because of who is buried here — Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini, the poet Foscolo — but that reputation can distract from the fact that Santa Croce is, first and above all, a Franciscan church. The friars have been here since the 1220s, when Francis himself may have visited Florence. The current building, begun in 1294 and attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio, is a massive Gothic basilica with a broad nave, an open timber ceiling, and walls full of frescoes. Giotto's work in the Bardi and Peruzzi chapels is the reason art historians make the trip — his scenes from the life of St. Francis show real human weight and emotion in a way that changed painting permanently. The Pazzi Chapel in the first cloister, designed by Brunelleschi, is a small masterpiece of Renaissance geometry. Cimabue's great painted crucifix, damaged in the 1966 flood and only partially restored, hangs in the museum as a reminder that Florence lives with water the way other cities live with weather. The floor is paved with tombstones. You walk on the dead, which the Franciscans would probably say is the point — humility, even for geniuses.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Florence
Style: Italian Gothic
What to See
The Bardi and Peruzzi chapels are to the right of the main altar — Giotto's frescoes here repay slow looking. The St. Francis cycle shows the stigmatization, the death of Francis, and the confirmation of the rule. Michelangelo's tomb is along the right wall of the nave, designed by Vasari with figures of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture mourning. Galileo's monument is opposite, on the left wall. The Pazzi Chapel in the cloister is small and serene — Brunelleschi at his most distilled. The museum houses Cimabue's crucifix, which still shows watermarks from the 1966 flood. Allow time for the second cloister, often empty and peaceful.
Pilgrim Notes
Santa Croce is in the eastern part of Florence's historic center, about a fifteen-minute walk from the Duomo. There is an admission fee for tourists, but the church is free during Mass times. Mass is celebrated daily by the Franciscan community. The piazza outside is large and lively, used for a Christmas market in December and the historic calcio storico matches in June. The leather school behind the church is worth a visit. Lines can be long in summer — arrive early or go late in the afternoon. Dress code is enforced: covered shoulders and knees.