Tag: Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

Basilica di Santa Maria Novella (Firenze)

Santa Maria Novella is between the train station and the bus station in Florence. It was the first church we visited on this trip to Tuscany. This church has a lot of great frescoes. We were visiting just a day after we arrived and were still pretty jet-lagged. So, we missed a lot. We hope to get back in a more lucid state. Turns out, I have a thing for frescoes. I knew it involved painting on wet plaster but I had no idea how complicated the whole process is. Google “fresco painting” and check out one of the videos.

Tornabuoni Chapel (main chapel). The frescoes were done by Ghirlandaio (and his apprentices). One of his apprentices was Michelangelo (about 14 years old) but it’s not know if he worked on these frescoes. Scenes from the life of John the Baptist are his subject on this wall (some details below). That’s St. Luke at the top.
Top: Herod’s banquet. Bottom left: Baptism of Jesus. Bottom right: John the Baptist preaching.
Bottom left: John the Baptist’s father. Bottom right: John the Baptist’s birth.
19th century Neo-Gothic altar in the Tornabuoni Chapel.
Not sure which chapel this ceiling is in.
Ceiling of Spanish Chapel by Andrea di Bonaiuto (Andrea da Firenze). Scenes from the life of Christ.
This is also by Andrea di Bonaiuto in the Spanish Chapel.
I don’t know who is buried here; I like the bones and skulls.