Santo Spirito (Florence)
Santo Spirito (La basilica di Santa Maria del Santo Spirito) is a Renaissance church with an Augustinian monastery in the Oltrarno district of Florence and bears the title of a minor basilica .
Building history
The construction was based on a previous Augustinian church from the 13th century. Only the refectory remains of these buildings . The increasing importance of the church on the southern bank of the Arno was also evident with the construction of the Ponte Santa Trinita . 1428–1430 Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) was commissioned to redesign the church.
After several design drafts, construction began on the transept in 1444 . After Brunelleschi's death in 1446, the construction work was continued by Antonio Manetti, Giovanni di Gaiole and Salvi d'Andrea. In 1482 the church was completed.
The structure
The complex does not form a central space, as it would have corresponded to the Renaissance concept, because the previous building had given the shape of a Latin cross. The church front already shows the basilica structure of the church and is structured by three entrance portals. The facade is simply made of bare brick blocks with a white-beige plaster.
The three-aisled basilica is designed as a longitudinal structure. It extends over 8 bays and is penetrated by an equally three-aisled transept. Above the crossing there is a hanging dome with 12 oculi and an opaion / eye in the zenith. The modest facade hardly suggests that one of the purest Renaissance rooms in Florence is inside.
The interior is characterized by the symmetry, harmony and harmony of the architecture, which does not form a center, but rather continues in a rhythmic repetition of the same module. Brunelleschi consciously used the colors and light conditions in order to achieve a specific spatial effect.
The architect structured the three-aisled basilica with a total of 35 Corinthian columns that extend into the crossing and the apse . The capitals and the arched ribs are made of sandstone, the wall surface is white, which creates a pleasant and elegant color contrast. The windows are framed by aedicules, the upper aisle is pierced with arched windows. The central nave and transept have a coffered flat ceiling ( coffered ceiling ), in the side aisle we find a barrel vault .
The church has 38 side chapels with works by Donatello , Ghirlandaio and Sansovino . The place is also interesting because the young Michelangelo had secretly studied human anatomy in the lower rooms by candlelight by dissecting corpses, which was officially not allowed. His crucifix , regarded as the earliest masterpiece, is also exhibited here.
sacristy
The sacristy was built by Giuliano da Sangallo from 1488 to 1496 . In the vestibule, mighty columns support a heavy barrel. The crucifix of Michelangelo is exhibited here today.
monastery
Cloisters and monasteries are on the side of the piazza. In the 13th century refectory is the Fondazione Romano nel Cenacolo di Santo Spirito museum with Orcagna's heavily damaged crucifixion fresco and the Corsini chapel. The two cloisters date from the 16th and 17th centuries.
literature
- Bruno Giovannetti, Roberto Martucci: Architect's guide to Florence. Butterworth Architecture, Oxford et al. 1994, ISBN 0-7506-1272-X .
- Antonio Paolucci (ed.): Churches in Florence. Hirmer, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7774-9960-9 .
- Howard Saalman: Filippo Brunelleschi. The Buildings (= Studies in Architecture. Vol. 27). Zwemmer, London 1993, ISBN 0-302-00609-5 .
- Rolf Toman (ed.): The art of the Italian Renaissance. Architecture - sculpture - painting - drawing. Könemann, Cologne 1994, ISBN 3-89508-054-3 .
- Klaus Zimmermanns: Florence. Paths through the Medici city: from the Cathedral Square to the Uffizi Gallery, over the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti. 6th, updated edition. Dumont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7701-3973-6 .
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 46 ′ 2 " N , 11 ° 14 ′ 52" E