Basilica of Santa Croce, Minor basilica in Florence, Italy
The Basilica di Santa Croce is a Franciscan church in eastern Florence and also part of the city's World Heritage Site. The interior is supported by slender octagonal columns that separate a central nave from two aisles, while sixteen chapels decorated with frescoes line the walls.
Construction of the current church began on 12 May 1294, possibly under Arnolfo di Cambio, on the site of an earlier Franciscan building, and Pope Eugene IV consecrated it in 1442. The neo-Gothic marble facade was added between 1857 and 1863 to a design by Niccolò Matas, the Jewish architect from Ancona who asked to be buried at its threshold.
The building houses the tombs of leading figures in Italian history, including artists, scientists, and writers who found their final resting place here. A cenotaph honors Dante Alighieri, though he lies buried in Ravenna, highlighting the role of this church as a pantheon of culture.
The church stands on Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres southeast of the Duomo, on ground that was marshland beyond the old city walls. Entry is from the square; the former friars' dormitory beside the cloister now holds the Scuola del Cuoio, where leather goods are made and sold. The complex has been under multi-year restoration with Italy's civil protection agency, and in October 2017 falling masonry closed it temporarily.
Niccolò Matas, a Jewish architect from Ancona, designed the neo-Gothic marble facade built between 1857 and 1863 and set a Star of David in its central gable. He asked to be buried beside the other great figures in the church, but as a Jew he was laid under the threshold, honoured only with an inscription.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,273 contributors worldwide.
