Kraft Hotel Florence · MONUMENTS
Main historical monuments which are ten minutes away from Kraft Hotel towards inner town centre.
Ognissanti Church - Borgo Ogissanti street
The convent was built in 1251 and soon became the core of the life of the surrounding district, which was famous for its wool weavers. In 1627 the church was completely re-made by B. Pettirossi and heavily renovated after the 1966 flood.
The faade was restored in 1872, and is one of the earliest examples of Baroque art in Florence. It was done by Matteo Nigetti in 1637. Inside, the church has one nave and a richly decorated transept.From the Church cloister you can enter the Covent old refectory. Among the paintings, a portrait of Saint Augustine by Botticelli and the "Cenacolo" by Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Santa Maria Novella
The first construction dates back to the 10th century A.D. The Church you can see today was started in 1246 by the dominican monks Sisto e Ristoro and completed in 1360 by Fra' Jacopo Talenti da Nipozzano.
The facade is one of the earliest and most beautiful in Florence. It was begun about 1300, and the lower part reveals the influence of both the Baptistery and San Miniato al Monte, while the main door and the upper half, with its graceful curves, are by Leon Battista Alberti, and date to 1470. Infact, commissioned by the Rucellai family to redesign the facade of the existing church, Alberti devised a rational and unified front. Alberti's design has various geometrical relationships; for example, the height to the top of the pediment is equal to the width and the upper temple with its pediment is one-fourth the size of the main square.
The two astronomical instruments on the extremities of the facade were added by Cosimo I De' Medici's astronomer in 1572. The inside of the church, which is simply vast, has a number of important art works. Off the right transept there is the Rucellai Family chapel, which used to have a Madonna with child by Duccio (it's now in the Uffizi), and still has a Madonna with Child by Nino Pisano. Still on the right transept, next to the apse, is Filippo Strozzi's chapel, with frescoes of the Old Testament (on the vault) and the lives of the saints, by Filippino Lippi.
The frescoes on the apse behind the main altar, are, instead, Domenico Ghirlandaio's masterpiece, stories from the life of the Virgin; he worked on them from 1485 to 1490 with the help of his brother, brother in law, and a bevy of assistants, including the young Michelangelo. The Gondi Chapel, immediately to the left of the altar, contains Brunelleschi's only surviving sculpture, a crucifixion he is said to have done sometime between 1410 and 1425, to show Donatello how he thought the Savior should be rendered.
The Strozzi Family chapel, which is off from the left transept, has an interesting fresco cycle of the Divine Judgment, with paradise and hell that reveal Dante's influence, done by Nardo di Cione, Andrea Orcagna's brother, in about 1357. Andrea did the Redeemer and Saints in 1357. Continuing down the left transept, you will come to Masaccio's Trinity, with Mary and Saint John. The fresco, painted in 1427, is one of the most important early Renaissance works, because of the control employed in positioning the figures, and because it is one of the first to accurately render perspective (Brunelleschi may have advised Masaccio).
The skeleton lying on a bench below the Trinity bears the warning, "I was what you are, and am what you yet shall be".
The entrance to the cloisters (Santa Maria Novella was a Dominican monastery) is to the right of the main door as you exit the church, and is well worth visiting. The refectory has the Creation of Adam and the animals, and the Creation and Temptation of Eve, by Paolo Uccello, as well as his masterpieces, the Flood and the Sacrifice of Noah, in which he astonished his contemporaries with his skill in rendering perspective.
Among the many other frescoes in the cloisters, there is, in the Cappellone degli Spagnoli, the hall that the Spaniards in the retinue of Duchess Elenore of Toledo, consort to Cosimo I De'Medici, used for religious services, an enormous allegorical fresco of the Militant Church, in which God's Watch dogs, Dalmatians and Dominican monks, watch over the flock of the faithful and savage wolves and heretics. Behind the Cappellone degli Spagnoli is the Chiostrino dei Morti, a small cloister with frescoes from the 14th century.
Palace "Palazzo Rucellai" - Vigna Nuova street
The street called 'Via della Vigna Nuova' is an elegant and luxurious one, known for its boutiques. Here you can also find one of Florence most aristocratic mansions.
Palazzo Rucellai was built in 1455 by Giovanni Rucellai, who commissioned the construction of a prestigious home to Leon Battista Alberti. To make room for the majestic project, the family bought and destroyed the surrounding houses, that belonged to the people. The building is a two-storey one, plus the ground floor, with its square entrance doors surrounded by long benches, typical of 15th century palaces, for passers-by and visitors to have a rest.
The perspective has a neat geometric outline, with the floors separated by double windows decorated with the noble family's emblems. The Rucellai's emblem has diamond rings and feathers.
On the pillars that frame the windows you can see classic capitols.
For Giovanni Rucellai's wedding day (he married Teresa de' Pazzi) the first floor was richly decorated, but the upper floor halls are simple in their elegance: large dancing halls with vaulted ceilings and frescoes reproducing classic mythology scenes.
Next to the Palace you can see a beautiful building with large glass windows opened on Via della Vigna Nuova: 'Loggia Rucellai'. Until 1677 the Loggia was used for celebrations and public or private ceremonies organised by the Rucellai family on special occasions. Later it was walled up and re-opened only in 1966, after major restorations. Today, it is often used for exhibitions of contemporary art.
Palazzo Strozzi
Info: Palazzo Strozzi, Piazza Strozzi
Gabinetto Viesseux ( Sala Ferri) e and courtyard
Open Monday-Saturday, 9:30-13:00
Ph. 055/288342
Located between the piazza of the same name and via Tornabuoni, Palazzo Strozzi is one of the symbols of Renaissance architecture. Its creation was the idea of Filippo Strozzi "the elder" who charged Benedetto da Maiano with planning a family residence that would be the envy of the Florentine nobility. Construction began in 1489 and was directed by Simone del Pollaiolo, called il Cronaca.
Today the palazzo seems a fortress in the heart of the city. On a rectangular base there are two floors plus the ground floor, each divided by linear cornices. One of its principle characteristics is the fidelity with which the canons of 15th century architecture have been respected in the realization of the faade: symmetrical and linear, in stone blocks that are coarse and rough-hewn on the ground floor and become progressively finer with each higher floor.
On the opposite sides, on piazza Strozzi and via Tornabuoni, the imposing entrances are surrounded by rectangular windows. The two upper stories are characterized by two-part windows, whose arch contrasts with the linearity of the architecture. Inside the arch is the stem of the Strozzi family.
The palace interior first viewed by the courtyard designed by il Cronaca. With porticos on all four sides, it is enclosed by arches with stone frames that rest on columns with stylised leaf capitals. On the ground floor it is also possible to see the splendid surroundings of Sala Ferri, which contains the Gabinetto Viesseux and the rich library of the Institute for Renaissance Studies. The decorations of the first floor were designed by Pietro Berti and today form the background for the important exhibits that the Palazzo holds. The first floor is open only for exhibits, but the ground floor is always open.
San Lorenzo Cathedral
According to popular tradition, San Lorenzo was built thanks to a gift by Giuliana, a Jewish matron. Consecrated cathedral in 393 by Sant'Ambrosio, it was dedicated to San Lorenzo Martire. Virtually nothing of the original construction has survived. The church was rebuilt by Bishop Gherardo of Burgundy and consecrated anew in 1050. In 1418 the Medici Family decided to adopt it as "their" church. They assigned the task of renovating the building to Brunelleschi, who finished most of it in 1421, and completed the Sagrestia Vecchia before 1429.
Following his death, the church was finished by Antonio Manetti, who modified some aspects of the original plans, in 1461. The faade remained naked stone despite plans drawn up by Michelangelo at the request of Pope Leo X. The wooden model for it is in Casa Buonarroti. The interior of the church is divided into three aisles by arched colonnades that are matched by side chapels.
The ceilings of the side aisles are vaulted, while the ceiling of the central nave is carved wood. Despite some 18th century modifications the church still displays an astonishing sense of unity. The Sagrestia Vecchia is one of Brunelleschi's first architectural creations.
Commissioned by Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici as his private chapel, it is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist.
The chapel is square, and is capped by a hemispherical dome with ribs in gray stone. Following the restoration carried out between 1985 and 1989, one can admire the stuccos and reliefs in their original colors. To the right of the basilica is the entrance to the cloisters, which were expanded and restructured by Michelangelo. The entrance to the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Italy's most important library, is on the second floor. The renowned stairs of the entrance were built by Ammannati, who followed Michelangelo's plans, in 1559.
The library is open to the public from 9 to 1, except Sundays.
Medici Chapels
Ph: 055 2388602
Price: Full price: 6 Euro - Reduced: 3 Euro (18/25 years old) - Free entrance until 18 years old, people over 60 years old and group of teachers and students.
The New Sacristy is symmetric to the Old Sacristy, and was designed by Michelangelo. It consists of a funerary chapel in a quadratic plan covered by a dome. The chapels include some of the most important Medici tombs created by Michelangelo. The Chapel of the Princes was commissioned in 1568 by Cosimo I, but was only finished in 1929. Six granite sarcophagi are dedicated to the grandukes buried there, like Cosimo I and Ferdinand II.
The Medici Chapels form part of the monumental complex of San Lorenzo, whose building history lasts from the first years of the fifteenth century until the early seventeenth. The church of San Lorenzo was the official church of the Medici from their period as private residents in their palace in Via Larga (now via Cavour), becoming their mausoleum up to the time of the extinction of the line. Giovanni de' Bicci de' Medici (died 1429) was the first who wished to be buried there with his wife Piccarda in the small Sacristy of Brunelleschi. Later, his son Cosimo the Elder, was buried in the crossing of the church.
The project for a family tomb was conceived in 1520 when Michelangelo began work on the New Sacristy, corresponding to the Old Sacristy by Brunelleschi on the other side of the church. It was above all Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, future Pope Clement VII who wished to erect a mausoleum for certain members of his family, Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, and Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours.
The architecture was complete by 1524, its white walls and pietra serena interior based on Brunelleschi. Michelangelo continued to work on the sculptures of the sarcophagi until 1533, but the only ones actually completed were the statues of the Dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano, the allegories of Dawn and Dusk, Night and Day and the group of Madonna and Child placed above the sarcophagus of the two "magnifici" and flanked by Saints Cosmas and Damian. The latter were executed by Montorsoli and Baccio di Montelupo, pupils of Michelangelo. As a' result of the complex history of the chapel and its elaborate symbolism, many interpretations have been made of its sculptures.
The poses of the two principal figures represent the Active and Contemplative lives while the famous statues on the sarcophagi probably refer to the conditions and phases of human life. The tombs also refer to the liberation of the soul after death, a philosophical concept closely linked with Michelangelo's own spirituality. In 1976, numerous drawings and sketches by Michelangelo executed as was often the case on walls, were discovered in a small space beneath the apse and sacristies of the church. These drawings, fifty-six in all, show legs, feet, heads and masks, and may be related to the statues and architecture of the Sacristy.
Uffizi Gallery
Piazzale degli Uffizi, Ph. 055/2388651
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Ponte Vecchio
Erected during Roman times, this is the most ancient and photographed bridge in Florence, which is characterized by three arches and two wide arcades on each side housing the famous and unusual "botteghe" or shops.
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