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Santissima Annunziata Review
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Santissima Annunziata
- Address: Piazza di Santissima Annunziata, Florence | Map It
- Phone: 055/266186
- Category: Religious Sites
- Location: Santissima Annunziata
Fodor's Review:
Dating from the mid-13th century, this church was restructured in 1447 by Michelozzo, who gave it an uncommon (and lovely) entrance cloister with frescoes by Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530), Pontormo (1494-1556), and Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540). The interior is a rarity for Florence: a sumptuous example of the baroque. But it's not really a fair example, because it's merely 17th-century baroque decoration applied willy-nilly to an earlier structure -- exactly the sort of violent remodeling exercise that has given the baroque a bad name. The Cappella dell'Annunziata, immediately inside the entrance to the left, illustrates the point. The lower half, with its stately Corinthian columns and carved frieze bearing the Medici arms, was commissioned by Piero de' Medici in 1447; the upper half, with its erupting curves and impish sculpted cherubs, was added 200 years later. Each is effective in its own way, but together they serve only to prove that dignity is rarely comfortable wearing a party hat. Fifteenth-century-fresco enthusiasts should also note the very fine Holy Trinity with St. Jerome in the second chapel on the left. Done by Andrea del Castagno (circa 1421-57), it shows a wiry and emaciated St. Jerome with Paula and Eustochium, two of his closest followers.
- Open: Daily 7:30-12:30 and 4-6:30
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