| Basilica of the Holy Spirit Basilica di Santo Spirito(in Italian) | |
|---|---|
 View of the Basilica. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Diocese | Archdiocese of Florence |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Minor basilica |
| Year consecrated | 1481 |
| Location | |
| Location |  Florence,Tuscany,Italy |
 Interactive map of Basilica of the Holy Spirit Basilica di Santo Spirito(in Italian) | |
| Coordinates | 43°46′2.2″N11°14′53.7″E / 43.767278°N 11.248250°E /43.767278; 11.248250 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects | Filippo Brunelleschi,Antonio Manetti, Giovanni da Gaiole, Salvi d'Andrea |
| Type | Church |
| Style | Renaissance |
| Groundbreaking | 1444 |
| Completed | 1487 |
TheBasilica di Santo Spirito ("Basilica of the Holy Spirit") is a church inFlorence,Italy. Usually referred to simply asSanto Spirito, it is located in theOltrarno quarter, facing the square with the same name. The interior of the building – internal length 97 m (318 ft) – is one of the preeminent examples ofRenaissance architecture.
The land for theAugustinian church andconvent was donated by Speziale and Acolti to Aldebrandino, a prior of the Augustinian establishment inArcetri in 1250.[1] The plot was located on the south bank ofArno in thesesto (one of the sixsestieri of Florence)Oltrarno, within the communal walls of 1173–1175,[2] but in a sparsely populated area. It became more accessible with construction of the Holy Trinity bridge (Ponte Santa Trinita) in 1252. The Augustinians started the church and the convent in the same year,[3] incorporating an old church of San Romolo in the complex.[1] It was originally dedicated to Mary, All Saints and the Holy Spirit, changing by the end of the century to Mary, the Holy Spirit and Matthew.[4]
The churches and convents ofmendicant orders were constructed with the financial support of the commune, which provided funds for Santo Spirito in 1267,[5] and then from 1292 to 1301.[4]
The convent of S. Spirito became a center of scholarly activities and was recognized asStudium Generale of the Augustinian order in 1284.[6] The first Rule and Constitutions of theAugustinians were approved in 1287 by thegeneral chapter of the order that was held in Florence.[6][7]
Houses were purchased in 1301 to produce a public square in front of the church — the Piazza Santo Spirito. By 1310 Santo Spirito had seven altars and a number of family chapels. More chapels were built during the next hundred years. By mid-century Santo Spirito was a very substantial complex, including a large firstcloister.[3] ACrucifixion and The Last Supper werefrescoed byAndrea Orcagna and his workshop in the 1360s.[4]
The confraternity of Santa Maria delle Laude (laudese), dedicated to theVirgin Mary and her praise was founded before 1322. It was staging an annualPentecost play celebrating the descent of theHoly Spirit to theApostles. It also was involved in charity: friar Simone Fidati da Cascia directed thelaudese foundation of a house for former prostitutes. In 1333 it already housed more than fifty women.[4]: 135, 146
Santo Spirito was associated with the earlyhumanism in Florence. One of the groups, led byBoccaccio, gathered there in 1360s and the 1370s. Upon his death in 1375 Boccaccio bequeathedhis library to the convent.In the 1380s and early 1390s another circle of humanists met daily in the cell ofLuigi Marsili (1342–94). Marsili had studied philosophy and theology at the Universities of Padua and Paris. He came into contact withPetrarch at Padua in 1370 and later became a friend of Boccaccio. This group includedColuccio Salutati (1331–1406),Chancellor of Florence from 1375. He soon became the central figure of the circle.[8] The most important of Salutati disciples wasLeonardo Bruni (1370–1444), the futureChancellor of Florence. Another member of the circle wasNiccolò de' Niccoli, a humanist and an associate ofCosimo Medici.
Santo Spirito was a scene of several dramatic events during the period of political instability of 1370s.As the only area of the city located across the Arno, thesieste (from 1343 the quarter) of Santo Spirito was physically and politically apart from the rest of Florence. Among its inhabitants were some of the most prominent and ancient families of the city, such as theCapponi, theSoderini, andFrescobaldi, as well as some of the poorest unskilled laborers. This politically explosive mix gave to the quarter its image of one of the most ready to rebel.[9]
One of the most sensational political assassinations in the history of theRepublic of Florence was a murder of Sandro da Quarata, a prominent member of the Ricci faction, in November 1370, when he was exiting the church after mass.[10]: 199 In the lead up-to theCiompi revolt the monastery was attacked by rioters on 22 June 1378, but defended by the forces loyal to thesignoria. Interrogations of the conspirators arrested on 19 July ( at the last-ditch attempt of the government to stomp the uprising), indicate the planned uprising was to be staged in four separate revolts, with the largest (involving a thousand men) in the church of S. Spirito.[10]: 368, 379
After the Florentine victory over the Milanese in 1397 during the secondMilan war on the feast day ofSaint Augustine (28 August), thesignoria decided to rebuild the church to honor the saint, placing it under the patronage of the city.Despite this decision, nothing much happened until 1434, when theoperai retained the services ofFilippo Brunelleschi. Work on the new church progressed slowly until March 1471. During thesacra rappresentazione "Descent of the Holy Spirit" organized by thelaudese in honor of the visit ofGaleazzo Maria Sforza the old church caught fire and was heavily damaged, together with parts of the convent.[1][4][9]: 66
Filippo Brunelleschi began designs for the new building as early as 1428. The first pillars to the building were delivered in 1446, ten days before his death.[11] After his death, the works were carried on by his followersAntonio Manetti,Giovanni da Gaiole, andSalvi d'Andrea; the latter was also responsible for the construction of the cupola.
UnlikeS. Lorenzo, where Brunelleschi's ideas were thwarted, here, his ideas were carried through with some degree of fidelity, at least in the ground plan and up to the level of thearcades.[12][13] TheLatin cross plan is so designed to maximize the legibility of the grid. The contrast betweennave andtransept that caused such difficulty at S. Lorenzo was here also avoided. The side chapels, in the form ofniches all the same size (forty in all), run along the entire perimeter of the space.
Brunelleschi'sfacade was never built and left blank. In 1489, a columned vestibule and octagonalsacristy, designed bySimone del Pollaiolo, known as Il Cronaca, andGiuliano da Sangallo respectively, were built to the left of the building. A door was opened up in a chapel to make the connection to the church.
ABaroquebaldachin with polychrome marbles was added byGiovanni Battista Caccini andGherardo Silvani over the high altar, in 1601. The church remained undecorated until the 18th century, when the walls were plastered. The inner façade is bySalvi d'Andrea, and has still the original glass window with thePentecost designed byPietro Perugino. The bell tower (1503) was designed byBaccio d'Agnolo.
The exterior of the building was restored in 1977–78.
The church has 38 side chapels (two chapels having been given over to doors), which contain a noteworthy amount of artworks. The most significant is the Bini-Capponi Chapel, housing theSt. Monica Establishing the Rule of the Augustinian Nuns painting byFrancesco Botticini. The Corbinelli chapels works are byAndrea Sansovino,Cosimo Rosselli and Donnino and Agnolo del Mazziere.
In the chapels of the transept are altarpieces byFilippino Lippi. Also in the transept is a choir from which theFrescobaldi Marquisses could participate in the rites without being seen by the crowd.
The sacristy, accessed through a doorway in what would have been the left sixth chapel preceded by a monumental vestibule bySimone del Pollaiolo, was designed byGiuliano da Sangallo in 1489, and has an octagonal plan. It is home to a devotional painting ofSt. Fiacre curing the Sick (1597) byAlessandro Allori (1596) commissioned by Christine of Lorraine, Grand DukeFerdinando I de' Medici's wife.
The 38 chapels and their works of art are:[14]
| Side | Chapel | Artworks |
|---|---|---|
| R | 1 (nave near facade) | Disputa dell'Immacolata Concezione byPier Francesco Foschi |
| R | 2 | Copy of Michelangelo'sPietà (1549) byNanni di Baccio Bigio |
| R | 3 | St. Niccolò da Tolentino byNanni Unghero; flanking angels byFranciabigio |
| R | 4 | Expulsion of the Money Changers from Temple (1572) byGiovanni Stradano |
| R | 5 | Coronation of the Virgin (c. 1694) byAlessandro Gherardini |
| R | 6 | Martyrdom of St. Stephen (1602) byDomenico Passignano |
| R | 7 | Tobias and Angel (1698) byGiovanni Baratta |
| R | 9 (transept) | Transfiguration byPier Francesco Foschi |
| R | 10 (transept) | Madonna del Soccorso (15th century) |
| R | 11 (transept) | Altar byBernardo Buontalenti |
| R | 12 (transept) | Madonna and Child with Saints and Nerli Family Donors (1488) byFilippino Lippi |
| R | 13 (transept) | Copy ofPerugino'sApparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard byFelice Ficherelli |
| R | 14 | Marble sarcophagus (c. 1457) byAntonio Rossellino |
| R | 15 (apse) | Madonna with SS. John Evangelist & Jerome (early 16th century) |
| R | 16 (apse) | Madonna with child & 4 saints (c. 1340) byMaso di Banco |
| R | 18 (apse) | Martyrdom of the ten thousand (1574) byAlessandro Allori with altarpiece ofSt. Lucy with two angels (c. 1460) attributed toNeri di Bicci |
| L | 1 (nave) | Resurrection byPier Francesco Foschi |
| L | 2 | Copy of Michelangelo'sChrist (1579) byTaddeo Landini |
| L | 5 | Madonna, St. Anne, and other saints byMichele Tosini |
| L | 8 | Madonna enthroned with SS Lawrence, Giovanni Gualberto, Catherine, & Bernard by follower ofFra Bartolomeo |
| L | 9 (transept) | Way to Calvary byMichele Tosini; windowDoubting Thomas attributed toBartolomeo di Giovanni |
| L | 10 (transept) | Madonna Enthroned with Saints (1505) byRaffaellino del Garbo with altarpiece ofSt. Lawrence distributing alms byJacopo del Sellaio |
| L | 11 (transept) | Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Saints Bartholemew and Nicholas byRaffaellino del Garbo |
| L | 12 (transept) | Trinity adored by Saints Catherine and Mary Magdalene (c. 1485) byFrancesco Granacci |
| L | 13 (transept) | Corbinelli altar (1492) byAndrea Sansovino |
| L | 14 (transept) | Madonna Enthroned and Child with Saints (1482) by Cosimo Rosselli, altarpiece ofDoubting Thomas attributed toNeri di Bicci |
| L | 15 (transept) | St. Monica Establishes the Rule of Augustinian Nuns (1483) attributed toFrancesco Botticini |
| L | 16 (transept) | Madonna and Child and Saints attributed toRaffaellino del Garbo |
| L | 15 (apse) | Nativity by a follower ofDomenico Ghirlandaio |
| L | 16 (apse) | Annunciation (late 15th century) |
| L | 18 (apse) | Christ and the Adultress (1577) byAlessandro Allori |
Michelangelo Buonarroti, when he was seventeen years old, was allowed to make anatomical studies on the corpses coming from the convent's hospital; in exchange, he sculpted awooden crucifix which was placed over the high altar. Today the crucifix is in the octagonal sacristy that can be reached from the west aisle of the church.
The convent had two cloisters, calledChiostro dei Morti andChiostro Grande ("Cloister of the Dead" and "Grand Cloister"). The first takes its name from the great number of tombstone decorating its walls, and was built around 1600 byAlfonso Parigi. The latter was constructed in 1564–1569 byBartolomeo Ammannati in a classicistic style.
The former convent also contains the great refectory (Cenacolo di Santo Spirito) with a large fresco portraying theCrucifixion over a fragmentaryLast Supper, both attributed toAndrea Orcagna (1360–1365). It is one of the rare examples of Late Gothic Art which can still be seen in Florence. The room also boasts a collection of sculptures from the 11th–15th centuries, including two low reliefs byDonatello, a high relief byJacopo della Quercia (Madonna with Child) and two marble sculptures byTino da Camaino (1320–1322).
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