The Complesso di San Firenze (Complex of San Firenze) is a 17th-century

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style building, consisting of a church, palace, and former oratory, located on the southeast corner of the saucer-shaped piazza of San Firenze, located in the quartiere of Santa Croce in central

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy. The buildings were commissioned by the Oratorians of Saint Philip Neri. Complesso di san firenze 33

History

Lorenzo mariani, festa in piazza san firenze, 1651, 02

Prior to the 17th-century, paintings of the Piazza depict a drab 12th-century Romanesque brick church of San Florenzio hemmed by tall medieval houses. The Oratorians acquired the church in the 1640s, and commissioned plans from

Pier Francesco Silvani Pier Francesco Silvani (1620–1685) was an Italian architect and designer, active during the Baroque period, in Florence and other sites in Tuscany. He was the son of the Sienese architect Gherardo Silvani. After the confiscation of goods decree ...

to construct an oratory. Construction began in 1645 with the attendance of the Grand-Duke and of the Cardinal

Giancarlo de' Medici Giancarlo de' Medici (24 July 1611 – 22 January 1663) was an Italian cardinal of the House of Medici. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany and his wife, Maria Maddalena of Austria, and the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medi ...

. Once the oratory was complete in 1648, the Oratorians received a further endowment from the son of Senator Giuliano de' Serragli, who commissioned an additional church from the Baroque architect

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

. The design of Cortona with two parallel flanking rectangular facades called for the acquisition of other buildings in the square. The plan was reformulated over time, and by 1715 construction of the new church facade was completed by

Ferdinando Ruggieri Ferdinando Ruggeri (Florence, 1691–1741) was an Italian architect, active in Florence during the late Baroque period. Ruggèri helped design the left facade of the Church of San Firenze (1715), the Palazzo Capponi in Florence, the Palazzo Sans ...

. The matching oratory facade was built from 1772 to 1775 by

Zanobi Del Rosso Zanobi del Rosso (1724–1798) was an Italian architect. He designed the ''Kaffeehaus'' in the Boboli Gardens The Boboli Gardens ( it, Giardino di Boboli) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Origi ...

. Others involved in the designs and construction were Gioacchino Fortini and Filippo Ciocchi. This led to the present nearly symmetric arrangement of the church on the north wing, the former seminary and housing in the center, and the oratory on the south wing. In 1848, the church was rededicated to the ''Immaculate Conception and Phillip Neri''. The Seminary has undergone a number of transitions, ebbing with the fortunes of the founding order. The Oratorian seminary was suppressed transiently in 1769, re-suppressed in 1808, but again returned to the order in 1814. By 1866, when Florence had been chosen the capital of Italy, the building was requisitioned by the state for office space. Restructuring and expansion of the seminary was conducted by Marco Treves and Paolo Comotto. The entire building suffered damage during the 1966 floods. In 2015, it housed civil courts of Florence, but was used for other functions. The Oratory is used for events and concerts, while the church retains its original function.

External decoration

The scenographic facade is notable for the two advanced wings, church on right, and oratory on left, each flanked by monumental corinthian columns. The portals have triangular pediments with white marble sculptures of leaning allegories: Faith and Hope with putti holding aloft the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

, sculpted by Giovacchino Fortini in the church, while Prayer and Humility with putti holding a star, sculpted by Pompilio Ticciati and Giovanni Nobili (sculptor) grace the Oratory. The center of the seminary is crowned by two trumpet-bearing angels holding the coat of arms of the Serragli family.

Interior decoration

The interior ceiling has a large canvas depicting the ''Glory of San Filippo Neri'' by Matteo Bonechi. The elaborate and costly stucco work of the nave was completed between 1668 and 1673 by a team of artists. The Chapel of the Madonna has a ''Virgin'' by

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition ...

and an ''Eleven Thousand Martyrs'' by Stradanus, which had been in the earlier church of San Firenze. The chapel cupola has frescoes by

Luigi Sabatelli Luigi Sabatelli (21 February 1772 – 29 January 1850) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassic period, active in Milan, Rome, and his native city of Florence. Biography He studied in his native city and in Rome. In 1803, with the reorganizatio ...

. The chapel was designed by

Zanobi del Rosso Zanobi del Rosso (1724–1798) was an Italian architect. He designed the ''Kaffeehaus'' in the Boboli Gardens The Boboli Gardens ( it, Giardino di Boboli) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Origi ...

, and once had a canvas attributed to

Francesco Bacchiacca Francesco d'Ubertino Verdi, called Bachiacca (say “bah ki ah ka”). He is also known as Francesco Ubertini, il Bacchiacca (1494–1557). He was an Italian painter of the Renaissance whose work is characteristic of the Florentine Mannerist sty ...

. The apse and altars of the church were designed by Fortini. He also completed the statues in the presbytery of ''Charity'' and ''Purity'', and the bas-reliefs of the ''Life of St Phillip Neri''. Other works are by

Antonio Montauti Antonio Montauti (1685 - 1740) was an 18th-century Italy, Italian sculptor active in Florence and Rome. Biography He was a pupil of Giuseppe Piamontini. His patron, Cardinal Francesco Maria de' Medici, obtained the first known works circa 1708– ...

. Other paintings in the church are by Giuseppe Pinzani,

Tommaso Redi Tommaso Redi (22 December 1665 – 10 October 1726) was an Italian painter, active during the late- Baroque in his native Florence. He initially apprenticed with the Florentine painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani (1652–1726), and then moved ...

Antonio Puglieschi Antonio Puglieschi (Florence, 1660 – Florence, 1732) ''A Checklist of Painters from c1200-1994: Represented in the Witt Library''. By Witt Library, 1995. was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. he trained ini ...

Anton Domenico Gabbiani Anton Domenico Gabbiani (13 February 1652 – 22 November 1726) was an Italian painter and active in a late Baroque style. Biography Born in Florence, Gabbiani first apprenticed with the Medici court portrait painter Justus Sustermans, then w ...

, S and G Perini. The ceiling of the oratory, designed by Silvani has a canvas of

Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani (1660–1731) was an Italian painter of the Baroque era. Biography A native of Florence, he was, according to Lanzi, a pupil of Antonio Giusti, but became a follower of the style of Carlo Cignani.Niccolò Lapi.Oratorio San Filippo
Florence, official site.

References

{{Coord, 43, 46, 10.5, N, 11, 15, 28.0, E, type:landmark, display=title Francesco Paola Baroque architecture in Florence 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 17th-century establishments in Italy Philip Neri