Oratory of St Thomas Aquinas, Baroque oratory on Via della Pergola, Florence, Italy
The Oratory of St Thomas Aquinas is a small baroque church on Via della Pergola in Florence. Its interior contains painted ceiling panels, an altarpiece showing the Crucifixion, and ornamental wall decorations created over several centuries.
This small chapel was completed in 1568 and originally served a religious confraternity. Later it became a hospice for travelers and pilgrims, with artistic decorations added over subsequent centuries.
The space reflects the artistic traditions of baroque Florence, with works created by local masters for devotional settings. Visitors can see how religious spaces of this era were decorated with carefully chosen paintings and crafted details.
The building sits directly next to the large Santa Maria Nuova Hospital and is easy to spot from the street. The interior is compact and can be viewed quickly, making it convenient to include in a walking route through the neighborhood.
The vestibule ceiling features illusionistic frescoes painted in 1782 that make the space appear larger than it actually is. This late-period addition demonstrates how the building continued to be embellished centuries after its original construction.
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