SM Novella is my favorite church in Florence. Yes, the Duomo is great for architectural and other reasons, and San Croce has all the monuments, etc. But SM Novella has a sweep and variety of Renaissance art that none of the others has. It was only three blocks from our apartment, but we put it off to the end, wanting to leave on another high point. We were not disappointed. All the same great stuff was there, which you can see in the following:
But, like the Brancacci, there was something new and special. As we walked through the nave, we noticed that some of the huge 18th century paintings were on gigantic hinges and had been swung open to reveal frescoes--much older frescoes--that had been covered over for centuries. Most of these have been discovered only in recent years. I'll just post pix of a few of these wonders. The SM Novella has some other older works, those by Ucello, for example, but "discovering" these hidden frescoes was a special treat. They're shown only on the first Sunday of the month.
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| OK, we have to do the obligatory nave shot |
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| And the altar and Ghirlandaio's magnificent chancel |
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Back up the nave, the big oil painting has opened
to reveal... |
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| The Theban Legion, attributed to Bruno di Giovanni, early 14th |
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| Discovered, 2008 |
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| And, across the nave |
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St. Thomas Aquinas Teaching, attributed to the
Master of St. Cecelia |
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| Discovered, 2018 |
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| And... |
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Saints Barbara, Catherine Martyr, and George,
attributed to Bruno di Giovanni, earlier 15th |
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| Discovered, 2011 |
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| And, finally... |
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Archangel Raphael and Tobias between St. Rocco
and St. Augustine, by Francesco Botticini, later
15th |
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| Discovered, 2004 |
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We exited via the huge old refectory, which we'd never seen before,
wondering what marvels hide behind the plaster of its walls |
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