Santa Trinita (Basilica of the Holy Trinity)
Cimabue painted his Maestà for this altar — it's at the Uffizi now, but the church that commissioned it is still standing.
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Founded by Vallombrosan monks in the 11th century and rebuilt between 1258 and 1280, Santa Trinita was bankrolled by Florence's wealthiest families. The Mannerist façade was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1593. Inside are roughly 20 family chapels, including the former Strozzi Chapel, now the sacristy. Outside, a Roman column in the piazza marks Florence's 1565 victory over Siena.
What to look for
- Bas-relief over the central door, carved by Pietro Bernini and Giovanni Battista Caccini
- 17th-century wooden doors with carved panels depicting Vallumbrosan saints
- The Column of Justice in the piazza — a column shipped from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, a gift from Pope Pius IV to Cosimo I de' Medici, erected in 1565 to commemorate Florence's victory at the Battle of Montemurlo
On Piazza Santa Trinita at Via de' Tornabuoni; the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Arno are directly south, with Palazzo Spini Feroni across the street.
Santa Trinita (Basilica of the Holy Trinity) is one of 38 sights worth the detour in Florence, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Florence pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Florence
- Michelangelo's DavidCarved for a cathedral roofline, then conscripted into politics — a 5.17-metre marble figure that became a republic's defiant face.
- Uffizi GalleryGiorgio Vasari built this as government offices in 1560; the Medici moved their art collection upstairs, and the last heiress gave it all to Florence under a formal family pact when the dynasty died out.
- Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze)Brunelleschi's dome has been the largest masonry dome ever built since 1436 — and nothing has beaten it.
- Palazzo PittiA banker's act of one-upmanship that the Medici, Napoleon, and Italian kings all ended up calling home.
- Ponte VecchioThe only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during World War II — and it has been lined with shops since the Middle Ages.
- Palazzo VecchioFlorence's 1299 town hall was built on a Ghibelline rival's rubble — and the battlements were engineered to drop boiling liquid on anyone who showed up uninvited.