Sant'Agostino

Sant'Agostino Review

Make a beeline for Benozzo Gozzoli's superlative 15th-century fresco cycle depicting scenes from the life of Saint Augustine. The saint's work was essential to the early development of church doctrine. As thoroughly discussed in his autobiographical Confessions (an acute dialogue with God), Augustine, like many saints, sinned considerably in his youth before finding God. But unlike the lives of other saints, where the story continues through a litany of deprivations, penitence, and often martyrdom, Augustine's life and work focused on philosophy and the reconciliation of faith and thought. Benozzo's 17 scenes on the choir wall depict Augustine as a man who traveled and taught extensively in the 4th and 5th centuries. The 15th-century altarpiece by Piero del Pollaiolo (1443-96) depicts The Coronation of the Virgin and the various protectors of the city. On your way out of Sant'Agostino, stop in at the Cappella di San Bartolo, with a sumptuously elaborate tomb by Benedetto da Maiano (1442-97).