San Niccolò Oltrarno 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 on Via San Niccolò in the district of the same name in

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 ...

, region of

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. The narrow district of Niccolò in

Oltrarno The Oltrarno (''beyond the Arno'') is a district of Florence, Italy. It is located south of the River Arno. It contains part of the historic centre of Florence and many notable sites such as the church Santo Spirito di Firenze, Palazzo Pitti, ...

is hemmed between the hills around San Miniato and the river. San niccolo

History

A church at the site is ancient, documented from 1184. It became the parish church in 1374. The proximity of the church to the river meant that it was prone to flooding, and was damaged by both the floods of 1557 and 1966. The neighborhood for centuries was home to the lower class workers. In 1828, the Russian count Niccola Demidoff founded the Scuole di San Niccolò Oltrarno for the indigent. The church was rebuilt after the 1557 flood, and the rose window in the facade was added. The facade and layout are drab. The church has a single nave and three chapels. In the second right altar is a ''Crucifix'' attributed to

Michelozzo Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi (; – 7 October 1472), known mononymously as Michelozzo, was an Italian architect and sculptor. Considered one of the great pioneers of architecture during the Renaissance, Michelozzo was a favored Medici ...

. In the third right altar is a 15th-century ''St Urban''. in the sacristy, is a fresco of the ''Madonna della Cintola'', attributed to Michelozzo. Florence: A Walking Guide to Its Architecture
by Richard J. Goy, page 67. It also held paintings by

Jacopo da Empoli 250px, ''Martyrdom of St. Sebastian'', San Lorenzo, Florence Jacopo da Empoli (30 April 1551 – 30 September 1640) was an Italian Florentine Reformist painter. Born in Florence as Jacopo Chimenti (Empoli being the birthplace of his father), ...

, ''Sermon of St John the Baptist'' (1608); and a ''Trinity and Saints'' (1463) by

Neri di Bicci Neri di Bicci (1419–1491) was an Italian painter active in his native Florence. A prolific painter of mainly religious themes, he studied under his father, Bicci di Lorenzo, who had in turn studied under his father, Lorenzo di Bicci. The three ...

. A restored

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is ...

, the Quaratesi Polyptych, made for la cappella Quaratesi, of

Gentile da Fabriano Gentile da Fabriano ( – 1427) was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic pictorial style. He worked in various places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany. His best-known works are his '' Adoration of the ...

is now again in display in the Sacristy. The facade of the church has a plaque demonstrating the height of the waters in the flood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of San Niccolo Oltrarno Roman Catholic churches in Florence 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain