The Badia Fiorentina, whose original name is Abbey of Santa Maria, is an important place of Benedictine Catholic worship dating back to 978. In the 13th century the church was renovated in Gothic style by Arnolfo di Cambio, one of the most illustrious Florentine architects of the medieval era.
Tradition has it that Dante Alighieri saw Beatrice here for the first time during the liturgical celebration. To underline the presence of this building is the bell tower which, as Dante himself narrated in his Divine Comedy, marked the third and ninth hours, or the beginning and end of the working day.
Experience the thrill of listening to the bell tower that inspired Dante and book a guided tour of the Badia Fiorentina.
Badia Fiorentina: the guided tour
The interior of the Church denotes an overlapping of styles and structures. The space below is headed by an elegant carved wooden ceiling dating back to 1631. The presbytery is frescoed with prestigious frescoes from the 1700s, while the choir dates back to the 1500s. Traces of frescoes from the 1300s are visible on the counter-façade. On the left wall there is the valuable canvas of the Assumption and Saints made in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari.
A beautiful pipe organ from the 1500s is placed on the choir to the right of the transeptGoing out, you arrive in the Cloister of the Oranges built between 1432 and 1438 by Bernardo Rossellino with an evocative cycle of frescoes on the life of St. Benedict to whom the Abbey was dedicated.
Don’t stop to read: watch live the overlapping of artistic styles that make the Badia Fiorentina unique. Book the tour with Florenceforanyone!
The stages of the visit
With the tour to the Badia Fiorentina you will be able to see:
- Exterior Description
- Interior description
- Cloister of the Oranges
