Santi Apostoli (Florence)
Santi Apostoli is a Romanesque church in Florence - one of the few whose early medieval appearance has been preserved thanks to careful restoration work.
The start of construction on the church, first mentioned in 1075, can only be deduced from its architectural features. Due to their stylistic similarity to the Baptistery of San Giovanni and the Church of San Miniato al Monte , these suggest an origin around 1060. Like these two other examples of the Proto-Renaissance in Florence, it has a number of structural elements that take up ancient models.
The facade is in a simple Romanesque style with Lombard ornamental shapes, but the portal dates from the 15th century.
Inside the construction corresponds to a three-aisle , across loose house basilica with semicircular apse the basic type of early Christian churches. The naves are separated from each other by columns made of green marble (from nearby Prato ), the shafts of which have the entasis (swell) of ancient temples.
The four-step round arches of the arcades also clearly refer to the ancient models. The design corpus of pre-Christian architecture also come from the Corinthian capitals , their immediate role models are in the church itself: the two western pillars have actually ancient capitals (1st century BC..), As spoils the nearby Roman well thermal facilities were removed .
The Romanesque simplicity is particularly evident in the apse, where the rough masonry is visible.
The aforementioned antique forms of the church anticipate important elements of Filippo Brunelleschi's Renaissance architecture . He should u. a. have been inspired by this church to take up the old forms in architecture. As a link between antiquity and its "rebirth" in the 15th century, Santi Apostoli is an important representative of the Florentine architecture of the Middle Ages.
A few elements in the church are more recent: the open, wooden and richly decorated roof structure dates from 1333, the aisles from the 16th century. The floor consists of simple mosaics and numerous tombstones from famous Florentine families. At the end of the left side aisle one finds majolica - Tabernacle of Giovanni della Robbia .
The small forecourt "Piazza del Limbo" used to be a cemetery for children who died without being baptized .
More pictures
Central nave
Tabernacle by Giovanni della Robbia and tomb of Oddo Altoviti
View of the Campanile from the other bank of the Arno
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 46 '9.5 " N , 11 ° 15' 8.4" E