Santa Trinita (; Italian for "Holy Trinity") is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church located in front of the
piazza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
of the same name, traversed by
Via de' Tornabuoni
Via de' Tornabuoni, or Via Tornabuoni, is a street at the center of Florence, Italy, that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita, across Santa Trinita square, distinguished by the presence of fashion boutiques.
The street houses high ...
, 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
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It is the mother church of the
Vallumbrosan Order
The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of Vallombrosa Abbey, their motherhouse fou ...
of monks, founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. South on Via de' Tornabuoni is the
Ponte Santa Trinita
The Ponte Santa Trìnita (Italian for ''Holy Trinity Bridge'', named for the ancient church in the nearest stretch of via de' Tornabuoni) is a Renaissance bridge in Florence, Italy, spanning the Arno. The Ponte Santa Trìnita is the oldest ellip ...
over the river
Arno
The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber.
Source and route
The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a s ...
; across the street is the
Palazzo Spini Feroni
Palazzo Spini Ferroni is a large Gothic palace located along Via de' Tornabuoni at the corner of Piazza Santa Trinita, in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy.
It stands across from the church of Santa Trinita.
History
The palace was comm ...
.
History
The church is home to the
Sassetti Chapel
The Sassetti Chapel (Italian: Cappella Sassetti) is a chapel in the basilica of Santa Trinita in Florence, Italy. It is especially notable for its frescoes of the ''Stories of St. Francis'', considered Domenico Ghirlandaio's masterwork.
History
F ...
, containing 15th-century frescoes by
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (, , ; 2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, also spelled as Ghirlandajo, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of ...
, and the
Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel
The Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel (Italian: ''Cappella Bartolini Salimbeni'') is a chapel in the church of Santa Trinita, Florence, central Italy. Its decoration by Lorenzo Monaco, dating to the 1420s, are one of the few surviving examples of Inter ...
, with frescoes by
Lorenzo Monaco
Lorenzo Monaco (1370 – 1425) was an Italian painter of the late Gothic to early Renaissance age. He was born Piero di Giovanni in Siena, Italy. Little is known about his youth, apart from the fact that he was apprenticed in Florence. He was inf ...
.
Even though the modern
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
word for "trinity" is ''
trinità
Trinità is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo.
Trinità borders the following municipalities: Bene Vagienna, Fossano, Magliano Alpi, a ...
'', with an accent indicating stress on the last vowel, the old
Florentine pronunciation used to put the stress on the first vowel, and the name is therefore written without an accent; sometimes, it is accented as ''trìnita'' to indicate the unusual pronunciation.
The current church was constructed in 1258–1280 at the site of a pre-existing 11th-century church. Multiple reconstructions occurred over the centuries. The
Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
façade (1593–1594) was designed by
Bernardo Buontalenti
Bernardo Buontalenti (), byname of Bernardo Delle Girandole ( 1531 – June 1608), was an Italian stage designer, architect, theatrical designer, military engineer and artist and inventor of italian ice cream.
Biography
Buontalenti was born in ...
. The bas-relief over the central door of the ''Trinity'' was sculpted by
Pietro Bernini
Pietro Bernini (6 May 1562 – 29 August 1629) was an Italian sculptor. He was the father of one of the most famous artists of Baroque, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, as well as the sculptor-architect Luigi Bernini.
Biography
Bernini was born in Sesto F ...
and
Giovanni Battista Caccini
Giovanni Battista Caccini or Giovan Battista Caccini (24 October 1556 – 13 March 1613) was an Italian sculptor from Florence, who worked in a classicising style in the later phase of Mannerism.
Life
Giovanni Battista Caccini was born at Mon ...
. The 17th-century wooden doors have carved panels depicting Saints of the Vallumbrosan order. The
Column of Justice (''Colonna di Giustizia'') in the piazza outside, originates from the
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...
in Rome, and was a gift to
Cosimo I de' Medici
Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death.
Life
Rise to power
Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...
by
Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...
. It was erected in 1565 to commemorate the
Battle of Montemurlo
On 1 or 2 August 1537 (both dates are given in sources), near the Tuscan village of Montemurlo, the forces of the newly installed Duke Cosimo I of Florence defeated a hastily organized army of those who wished to overthrow the Medici and restor ...
in which Florence defeated
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
.
The ''
Santa Trinita Maestà
The ''Santa Trinita Maestà'' (Italian: ''Maestà di Santa Trinita'') is a panel painting by the Italian medieval artist Cimabue, dating to c. 1290-1300. Originally painted for the church of Santa Trinita, Florence, where it remained until 1471 ...
'' by
Cimabue
Cimabue (; ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World’s Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter a ...
was once at the high altar of the church, and was later moved to a side chapel. It is now exhibited at the
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...
.
Chapels
The church has approximately 20 chapels, many with masterworks. The most significant are the
Sassetti Sassetti is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Andrea Sassetti (born 1960), Italian shoe designer, owner of the Italian fashion company Andrea Moda
*Bernardo Sassetti (born 1970), Portuguese jazz pianist and film composer
*Filippo ...
and the
Bartolini Salimbeni chapels. Francesco Sassetti had been a manager of the
Medici Bank
The Medici Bank (Italian: ''Banco dei Medici'' ) was a financial institution created by the Medici family in Italy during the 15th century (1397–1494). It was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during its prime. There are some estima ...
, and some of the Ghirlandaio frescoes capture views of contemporary Florence.
Notes
References
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinita Florence
Basilica churches in Florence
Gothic architecture in Florence
Mannerist architecture in Italy
16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1594