Santa Trinita (; Italian for "Holy Trinity") is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in front of the ''

piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

'' 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 ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, Italy. It is the mother church of the

Vallumbrosan Order The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of their motherhouse founded in Vallombrosa (), situated 30 km ...

of Monks, founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. South on Via de' Tornabuoni is the

Ponte Santa Trinita The Ponte Santa Trinita (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 ellipti ...

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 sou ...

; 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, Tuscany, Italy. It stands across from the church of Santa Trinita. History The palace was commissioned ...

History

The church was founded by the Vallombrosians in the 11th century (when it was outside the city walls), and subsequently patronized by many of Florence's wealthiest families. Even though the modern

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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, an ...

'', 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. Santa Trinita was originally built as a simple Romanesque style, named the Church of Santa Maria dello Spasimo. It was built on the site of an earlier Carolingian oratory. Some traces are still visible on the counter-facade. The current church was constructed in 1258–1280 at the site of a pre-existing 11th-century church. It was raised to the rank of minor basilica in the 13th century. Santa Trinita is both a parish church and the monastic church of the Vallombrosan monastery of the same name. Multiple reconstructions occurred over the centuries. The

Mannerist Mannerism 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, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

façade (1593–1594) was designed by

Bernardo Buontalenti Bernardo Timante Buonacorsi ( – June 1608), known as Bernardo Buontalenti () and sometimes by the nickname "Bernardo delle Girandole", was an Italian Scenic design, stage designer, architect, theatrical designer, Military engineering, military ...

. 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 ...

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 Classicism, classicising style in the later phase of Mannerism. Life Giovanni Battista Caccini was b ...

. 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 () 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, during the reigns of empero ...

in Rome, and was a gift to

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius 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 itself a b ...

.Guida artistica della città di Firenze
by Emilio Burci, Pietro Fanfani, page 111. 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 resto ...

in which Florence defeated

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. 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 -1292. Originally painted for the church of Santa Trinita, Florence, where it remained until 1471, it is ...

'' by

Cimabue Giovanni 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 p ...

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 ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum 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 and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

. The former Strozzi Chapel is now the sacristy.

Chapels

The church has approximately 20 chapels, many with masterworks. The most significant are the Sassetti and the Bartolini Salimbeni chapels. Francesco Sassetti had been a manager of the Medici Bank,"Santa Trinita", The Museums of Florence
/ref> and some of the Ghirlandaio frescoes capture views of contemporary Florence.

Notes

References

* {{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