5 th ITINERARY
Not far from the Santa Maria Novella Station is the church of Santa Maria Novella on the square of the same name. From Piazza Stazione take via Panzani, turning right into via Rondinelli which continues as Via Tornabuoni. Along the way to the river are Palazzo Strozzi and the Curch of Santa Trinità . Cross Ponte Santa Trinita, take Lungarno Guicciardini on the right up to the next bridge, Ponte alla Carraia, and cross back to Piazza Goldoni. Here, making a left you come to the church of Ognissanti while going right into Via della Vigna Nuova, you soon reach Palazzo Rucella, a famous Early Renaissance palace designed by Leon Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino.
The scenic drive moves along Viale Michelangelo from Piazza Ferrucci on the left bank of the Arno. After stopping at Piazzale Michelangelo and the chuch of San Miniato al Monte continue along Viale Galileo to via San Leonardo which winds its charming to 16th century Forte Belvedere, in a superb panoramic setting.
Built by Dominican monks in the mid-1200s the church has a remarkable facade begun in the 14th century and completed by Alberti in the 15th (upper section and portal). The geometric patterns recall the Tuscan style Romanesque of the 11th-12th centuries. The entranceway to the remarkable cloisters is to the left of the facade. The first, the Chiostro Verde is adorned with 15th century frescoes. Next you enter the Refectory which Paolo Uccello frescoed around 1430. The most famous scenes are those of the Flood and Sacrifice of Noah, From the other side of the Chiostro Verde you enter the Chiostro Grande the the Chiostrino dei Morti and finally the Cappellone degli Spagnoli. The Cappellone, built in 1350 and taken over by Eleonora da Toledo was superbly frescoed by Andrea di Bonaiuto with scenes relating the history of the Dominican order and the Life of St Thomas of Aquinas. Inside the immense Gothic church are numerous masterpieces of Renaisssance art: Masaccio's Trinity a Cucifix by Giotto and many others.
VIA TORNABUONILined with famous boutiques as well as superb palaces (including Palazzo Strozzi)it runs form Piazza Antinori to the Santa Trinita Bridge. Two notable buildings look out Palazzo Antinori and San Gaetano, one of the few Baroque churches in Florence. Piazza Santa trinita at the end of the street is among Florence's loveliest squares.
PALAZZO STROZZIPerhaps the most famous example of Renaissance civic architecture, the distinctive palace was commissioned by the Strozzi family and designed by Benedetto da Maiano in 1489. Its great cornice and lovely inner courtyard were designed by a contemporary of Benedetto's Cronaca. Today the building is occupied by cultural organizations.
SANTA TRINITAThe original building, an 11th century church erected by the Vallombrosan monks, was remodeled in the late 1400s while the facade was designed by Buontalenti in the 1590s. The interior, one of the earliest examples of Florentine Gothic, features outstanding Renaissance works such as a statue of Mary Magdalene by Desiderio da Settignano in the fifth chapel on the left, and a fine Annunciation and scenes form the life of the Virgin by Lorenzo Monaco on the altar and walls of the fourth righthand chapel.
PIAZZALE MICHELANGELOWhit the whole city spread out below your feet, you see, from left to right; the Cascine park, the dome and immense mass of the Cathedral surrounded by the towers and bell towers of medieval Florence, Santa Croce, with the Arno in the foreground and the Florentine hills in the background. In the center of the square is a copy of the David commemorating Michelangelo. Half hidden among the gray-green cypress trees up the hill is the church of San Salvatore al Monte designed by Cronaca in 1499.
SAN MINIATO AL MONTEThis superb Romanesque church built between the 11th and 12th centuries features a distinctive green and white patterned marble facade with a superb 13th century mosaic.
The interior has a typically Romanesque plan: a nave and two aisles and an east end with a raised choir and crypt below. Of especial note is the 13th century Inlaid marble floor of the nave. At the end of the nave is the Cappella del Crocifisso and embellished with Della Robbia terracottas.
Above the choir, surrounded by marble partitions sustaining a pulpit, and adorned with an immense 13th century mosaic, 15th century choir stalls, and a panel painting of St. Miniato by Jacopo del Casentino on the right is the Sacristy with late 14th century frescoes by Spinello Aretino recount the life of St.Benedict.
