St. James Episcopal Church, Florence, Italy, Gothic Revival church near Santa Maria Novella station, Florence, Italy.
St. James Episcopal Church is a Gothic Revival church in Florence, located a short walk from Santa Maria Novella station. The building has stone walls, pointed arch windows, ribbed vaults, and large stained glass windows that follow the conventions of Anglican church architecture from the early 1900s.
An American Episcopal congregation existed in Florence from 1868. In 1906 the community commissioned architect Riccardo Mazzanti, working with Gino Marchi and later R. Carrère; John Pierpont Morgan backed the project and supervised it personally. The first stone was laid on 23 April 1908, and the church was consecrated on 8 November 1911, still without its tower, which was finished in 1927.
The church is shared by the American Episcopal congregation, present in Florence since 1868, and the city's Old Catholic parish, which also celebrates here. The name comes from Saint James. Visitors can see the Buttles family chapel, furnished in 1928, and the organ built by the English firm Willis & Sons in 2009, with 25 stops on two manuals and pedal.
The church is easy to reach on foot from the Santa Maria Novella area, and the surrounding streets are walkable and straightforward to navigate. Access may depend on scheduled services or events, so checking ahead before you go is a good idea.
The church was closed during World War II but suffered no major damage; it was reopened by the American army. Its tower, decided on only in October 1911, was finished in 1927, together with work on the rectory begun in 1921.
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