Church of Santo Spirito
(in the sacristy, where the postcards are sold)
Piazza Santo Spirito
Open for Sunday mass: 8am; 10:30 am
Although not particularly easy to find, this exquisite polychrome wood sculpture was probably originally created for Santo Spirito’s high altar. It is still debated among scholars as to whether this is the crucifix that Michelangelo offered to the church’s prior as a ‘thank you’ gift for letting him study the corpses in the church’s hospital/morgue. Probably finished in 1492, the crucifix was lost until 1963. The work was later restored and finally displayed again in the year 2000. The church also houses artwork by Ghirlandio and Filippino Lippi.
The foundation of the original church was begun in 1292. At the end of the 14th century, the monks commissioned Brunelleschi to design a new church. They raised funds to pay the architect by scrimping on their own budget, fasting for one meal each day. Brunelleschi died two years after construction began. The 18th-century facade is of unfinished rough stone, but the interior, with its 38 chapels, reflects a handsome elegance. It was designed as a Latin cross, with three open aisles.
