Santa Maria Novella, Again

Another favorite in Florence is the Santa Maria Novella church, Dominican, dating from the 13th century. The church building and architecture are impressive enough, but it is the artwork within that most impresses. This was our fourth visit since our retirement travels began, and we're still discovering things to like about this church. Previous posts include http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2017/11/florence-santa-maria-novella-church.html, http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/10/santa-maria-novella-2013.html, and http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/santa-maria-novella.html. Few of the following pix are new to the blog. But this is one of my favorite places, and it's my blog.

Nave view

The meridian

Early Botticelli Adoration over the main door

Masaccio's Trinity

Pulpit designed by Brunelleschi; from here
Galileo was first denounced

Major Giotto crucifix; the place is like a Renaissance who's
who; did I mention that the 1560s remodel was by Vasari?

Lippi's Expulsion from Hieropolis in a side chapel

Featuring the farting dragon (some people insist it's merely belching)

Way high up in an adjoining chapel, a Duccio Christ with 2 angels

Perhaps the main glory of this place, the main chapel, with
its three high walls of Ghirlandao frescoes

Thus

The chapel windows also designed by Ghirlandao 

Beautiful inlays in the choir

Brunelleschi's nude Crucifixion

In another side chapel, some really old frescoes, three walls, mostly featuring
Dante stuff

Church altar

Yet another chapel: three-legged Jesus?

In the sacristy, an incredible Della Robbia (the sacristy
doubles as the gift shoppe; but don't exit through it...there's
much more)

Out in the Green Cloister, frescoes by Team Ucello; the
little sign on the left shows how high the Arno's waters
reached in the great flood of 1966

And now in the Spanish Chapel, a personal favorite, with giant walls and
ceiling frescoes by Bonaiauto, glorifying the Dominicans; and Christianity

A vision of the Florence duomo, before it was built? Some say not; pictured are
 many of the Greats of the age, not least Dante, Boccacio, Petrarch

Out in the mortuary wing; not recommended for 7 year olds

More of the Green Cloister and Ucello and other frescoes

Now in the refectory, Madonna and Child by Bernardo Daddi...very old...died in 1348,
like a lot of people back then

One of the gloriously restored Ucellos

The Great Cloister is huge, adorned mostly with 17th century frescoes; not so
interesting; but from the cloister I was able to peer into one of the shoppes of the
SM Novella Profumo Farmaceutica, which we visited in 2011; muy famoso; see
http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/elixirs-balms-ointments-balsams.html