We have finally reached the final stretch of my recent visit to Santa Croce.  For the past few days, I have posted similarly on other parts of the church (you can find the posts here).

First, this tomb commemorating Rossini:

Next up is one of the masterpieces of Santa Croce.  It is the tomb for Leonardo Bruni, created by Bernardo Rossellino:

Then, the creme de la creme of sculpture in all of the Renaissance, in my humble opinion.  I adore this monument by Donatello.

Moving further along towards the western end of the side aisle, we arrive at Canova’s tomb to Alfieri. I used to swoon for Canova and Neoclassicism.  I still like this sculptural work.

And Dante, who was exiled and whose body is preserved in Ravenna.  In the 19th century he was given this cenotaph in the celebrity burial place of Florence, Santa Croce.

I love the way the couple is admiring this monument in these pictures.

And then, of course, there is the tomb for Michelangelo, created by Vasari.

And, upon leaving (or entering) the basilica, the font with holy water for the faithful is perhaps the most beautifully wrought example of its kind:

Niccolini tomb on the western wall, between 2 portals.

Following the recent reopening of this Franciscan basilica, I continue with my first visit of the church (for parts 1, 2 and 3 see here).  We begin here at the east end of the basilica, in the chapels to the right of the Peruzzi Chapel:

Below is a major reliquary.  I find this aspect of the Roman Catholic Church so strange.

Looking west from the eastern wall, I see this neoclassical tomb.

Castellani Chapel by Agnolo Gaddi and his workshop:

Following the recent reopening of Florence’s major Franciscan basilica, this is part 3 of my first visit of the church (parts 1 and 2 are here and here).  We have reached the altar end of the basilica and here it is in all its glory!

First, let’s have a detailed look at the altar in front of the apse:

Also on display near the altar is this incredible Medieval painted altarpiece depicting St. Francis and scenes from his life:

I will be writing a post on the frescoes in the main chapel behind the altarpiece.  Right now, they have it roped off and I couldn’t get into it to take decent pictures. Looking into the apse area behind the main painted altarpiece:

OK, so now we move into the big leagues as far as art historian are concerned.  Two of Giotto’s major works are to be found in adjoining chapels in Santa Croce.  They are the Bardi and Peruzzi family chapels. The first one is the Bardi chapel, depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis:

And now, the Peruzzi Chapel. Sadly, the frescoes are in very bad condition, having been partially painted a secco by Giotto, which means the true fresco technique did not allow the colors to become a part of the wall.  Plus, the frescoes were badly abused over the centuries, sometimes even being covered with white wash.

Here’s an overall view of the 2 family chapels next to each other on the east end of the church. The Bardi is to the left, under the stained glass window, and the Peruzzi is to the right of it: