San Remigio, Florence, Romanesque church in Florence, Italy

San Remigio is a church in Florence with a three-aisled interior divided by octagonal pillars with carved capitals, covered by cross vaults frescoed with saints in the 14th century. Its facade in pietra forte has a hanging-arch decoration along the roofline and a portal topped by a pointed-arch lunette. The central nave is slightly higher than the side aisles, each ending in a square chapel.

A hospice dedicated to Saint Remigius, bishop of Reims, stood outside the old walls by the 9th century, serving French pilgrims bound for Rome. A first church on the site is recorded in 1040; the present Gothic building dates from a rebuilding of 1350, financed by families including the Alberti, Pepi, Bagnesi and Alighieri, whose coats of arms are carved on the octagonal piers. Baroque altars were added in the 17th century and the high altar in 1818.

The church is known for hosting the funerals of people who drowned in the Arno. Niccolò Tommaseo, who died in 1874, received his funeral rite here; the elderly Gino Capponi gave the oration, his last public appearance before his death in 1876.

The church sits on Piazza San Remigio in the center of the city and is easily reached on foot. Many restaurants and places to stay are nearby, making it convenient to visit and explore the surrounding area.

In the bell chamber are late-Gothic sinopias of lost frescoes, Hunting Scenes and Hermits in the Desert, rediscovered only in 1954. There too is a stone from Reims Cathedral, dislodged by a World War I bombardment and donated to the church in 1954 when Florence twinned with the French city.