Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

My favorite church to visit in Florence! Beautiful outside and amazing inside because of those laid to rest there. And if you’re around in November and/or December, there’s a great Christmas Market in the square in front of the church. You won’t regret visiting!

The Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Italian pronunciation: [ˈsanta maˈriːa madˈdʒoːre]; Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris; Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae ad Nives),[a] or church of Santa Maria Maggiore (also referred to as Santa Maria delle Nevi from its Latin origin Sancta Maria ad Nives), is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy.

The basilica enshrines the venerated image of Salus Populi Romani, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary as the health and protectress of the Roman people, which was granted a Canonical coronation by Pope Gregory XVI on 15 August 1838 accompanied by his Papal bull Cælestis Regina.

Pursuant to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Italy, the Basilica is within Italian territory and not the territory of the Vatican City State.[2] However, the Holy See fully owns the Basilica, and Italy is legally obligated to recognize its full ownership thereof[3] and to concede to it "the immunity granted by International Law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agents of foreign States."[2] In other words, the complex of buildings has a status somewhat similar to a foreign embassy.

Besides the Basilica (where the frescoed chapels, the Sacristy and the Avelli Cemetery are open to the public), the museum path includes the Cloister of the Dead, the renowned Green Cloister, the Spanish Chapel, the Ubriachi Chapel and the Refectory. The Grand Cloister, named for its colossal dimensions (featuring 56 arched spans), vaunts spectacular frescoes attributed to prominent painters of the Florentine Academy. Be sure to visit the evocative Northern Dormitory, a majestic space marked by cross-vaulted arches supported by rows of pilasters. On the weekends, you can admire the Pope’s Chapel and join a guided tour organized by the Mus.e Association. Thanks to an agreement between the Interior Ministry's Religious Buildings Fund and the Municipality of Florence, visitors can enjoy the complex in one go: a single ticket grants visitors access to the entire centuries-old Dominican establishment.

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella contains numerous art treasures and tombstones. The frescoes of the Gothic and early Renaissance masters are especially famous. They were financed by the most important Florentine families, who secured funeral chapels on consecrated ground. These graves and tombstones are very interesting. The church stands on top of a hill above Florence and has an exceptional position.

Amazing basilica and monastery behind it. You see frescoes buy most famous italian masters, and a lot of wood and marm works. Amazing!

Huge church with many areas to see. Love the many paintings and history. We had no wait to go in. It's about $8-9US to get in. I would recommend it if you live history, are, and many vikings are painted in various rooms.

Where Micheangelo got his start helping to do frescoes with Ghirlandaio.... Don't miss the Massacio.... It's under Restoration so you have to pay an extra to Euros to even get a glimpse...🥺

Insanely beautiful ceilings, floors and interiors. The view of Florence is also stunning, I would highly recommend this beautiful and peaceful place!

Absolutely gorgeous! Several restaurants nearby. Easy walking distance from Firenze SMN Station.

One of the oldest church and we can see one of the oldest painting inside the church. Now the painting is under maintenance…

A renaissance basilica with well maintained remains of its 11th century original structure and mural.

Visit here for 1 hour before we leave to Paris by train. Less crowd than the cathedral dome and you still see a lot of things and kids like lighting up the candles

Lots to see (look up details before visiting to check what to focus on). Cloisters have 15C frescoes around their walls.

There is a ticket to enter, but you can take a picture from the door were you can basically see everything. They use the same marmor for the main facade as in the basilica . I would not recommend going inside but taking a look and maybe peaking inside from the main door.

a beautiful church, not far from the train station. there is a queue for the main part of the church, but for those looking to just stop by and pray, there is a little chapel accessible from the side entrance.

For a couple of years I've been walking by this church and just never went in this time I spent the time looking at the church and was very impressed. I went towards closing time so was not able to take in the museum but I was able to sit in on a mass that was in session and just being in the place was a great feeling. Every piece of artwork in the main sanctuary is well documented. All I can say is unlike myself don't keep walking by this gem in Florence stop and look.

When I visited, it was closed. You have to pay to enter, so think twice if buying tickets for this. This basilica is historically importsnt but there are other religious buildings you can check out too for free!

The basilica is in the piazza de santa maria novella, the place is not so crowded and there is an obelisk that stands on top of tortoises. The basilica looks so grand and the place is really solemn. The area which the piazza located used to be an arena for chariot racing during the middle ages.

The obelisk probably is for the honour of grand Duke Cosimo I Medici.
You will pass by this area when you are heading to the train Station named also Santa Maria Novella.

If you want a quiet place to go by at night, this will be a good place. Lots of places to eat and cafes around.

Great design of the basilica and it looks so beautiful at night.

Absolutely huge church and very beautiful. Recommend.

This is a great church to pass through. Most likely the first you will pass by if you enter Florence by train. To me is a far better experience than any other church we had a chance to visit in Florence (and there are many). I enjoyed this more that the visit to the Duomo which is supposed to be the highlight of Florence. This church allows you to see not only the church itself, but the attached cloisters and a small museum. All in all well worth it.