Santissima Annunziata (Florence)

Santissima Annunziata ( Italian: Santissima Annunziata ) - Basilica in Florence . Built in 1250 by the order of servitudes . The church was rebuilt in 1444 - 1477 thanks to the efforts of Michelozzo and Leon Battista Alberti . The closed courtyard-cloister belongs to this period.

Church of Santissima Annunziata in Florence

Church interior

In 1601, sculptor and architect added a loggia with an arcade on columns to the old basilica, in imitation of two similar loggias: Ospedale degli Innochenti , creations by Filippo Brunelleschi , and , built by Antonio da Sangallo and others. Thus, the symmetrical composition of the square , the eponymous basilica, was completed.

In the arched gallery of the cloister , covered with a glass roof, there is a small museum of painting, called the “Monastery of Vows” . This scenically decorated space is decorated with frescoed lunettes by Rosso Fiorentino , Pontormo and Andrea del Sarto . To the right of the entrance is the fresco "Ascension of the Madonna" by Rosso Fiorentino. Then, in order, follow the “Annunciation” by Jacopo Pontormo and the “Betrothal of Mary” by Francabigio . Of particular beauty are the frescoes by Andrea del Sarto “The Birth of Mary” and “The Arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem” .

To the left of the entrance to the church is the “Nativity of Jesus” by Alesso Baldovinetti , followed by scenes from the life of St. Filippo Beninzi , a servitude monk, canonized in the 17th century, by Andrea del Sarto. The magnificent interior of the church in the Baroque style took shape after all the restructuring of the XVII and XVIII centuries. The renovation of the decoration was comprehensive, the interior received a festive appearance, rare for Florence. The imposing baroque canopy seems too pompous for the small Renaissance temple of Miquelozzo.