On April 17, 2017, the Santa Maria Novella basilica complex will expand its museum spaces.
Following the success of Santa Maria Novella Day (October 9, 2016) and the free opening for Florence residents during the Christmas holidays, now the oldest environments of the convent will become additional parts of the museum spaces of Santa Maria Novella.
While the Cloister of the Dead, the Green Cloister, the Spanish Chapel, the Ubriachi Chapel and the Refectory have long since been open to visitors, the cultural offering will now extend to the Large Cloister, the Northern Dormitory and, as from April 22, 2017, the Chapel of the Pope (also open on Easter Monday, booking required, see below). All of these parts of the complex can be visited upon guided tours.
The fourteenth-century Large Cloister is home to a fresco cycle painted for the most part in the sixteenth century by artists of the Florentine Academy, including Alessandro Allori, Santi di Tito and Il Poccetti. The Dormitory at the northernmost end of the Large Cloister was erected in the early fourteenth century and distinguishes itself due to the double sequence of slender pillars that hold up a cross-vault ceiling.
Santa Maria Novella, Chapel of the Pope, fresco by Pontormo
On the first floor of the northern side of the Large Cloister, the Chapel of the Pope is a jewel in the crown of Florentine art midway between the Renaissance and Mannerism. The chapel was added upon Medici Pope Leo X’s visit to Florence on November 30, 1515, with artworks by Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio and Pontormo.
Santa Maria Novella Basilica
Piazza Santa Maria Novella
Open April 17, 2017, 9am-7pm. Guided tours of the Large Cloister and Chapel of the Pope at 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30pm. Guided tours will begin on April 22, 2017 and continue every weekend after that date on Saturdays at 10.30am, 11.30am and 12.30pm and on Sundays at 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30pm. Tours cost 2 euro for residents and 4 euro for non-residents of Florence. Entrance to Santa Maria Novella complex costs 5 euro (3.50 for over 65s, free for residents of Florence and children under 5 years).
To book, call +39 055 2768224 or +39 055 2768558 or email info@muse.comune.fi.it
