BASILICA SAN MARCO
The Basilica of San Marco, where Fra Angelico painted his famous frescoes, was Florence's spiritual lung in the century.
Located in Piazza San Marco, a lively square in the historic centre, the Dominican Basilica of San Marco and its convent are known today for having housed Giovanni da Fiesole, better known as the artist Beato or Fra Angelico, and also because Girolamo Savonarola carried out his activity as preacher, moral reformer and politician there. The basilica was founded in 1267 by monks of the order of the sylvestrins, a branch of the Benedictines. The complex, formed by the basilica and its convent, was renovated and enlarged in the middle of the 15th century, according to the wishes of Cosme le Vieux de Médicis, who seemed to want to make amends for some dishonest things! The current basilica, renovated at the end of the 16th century and again in the 18th century, when the façade was executed in pure neoclassical style by Frá Giovan Battista Paladini, has a single nave and several side chapels. On the left, before the main altar, it preserves the sumptuous chapel of San Antonino, Dominican, Archbishop of Florence, designed by Giambologna. Also not to be missed are Fra Angelico's precious crucifix, made between 1425 and 1428, which is on the high altar, as well as the magnificent frescoes of Alessandro Gherardini's dome (1717). Finally, the bell tower, the work of the sculptor and architect of the Florentine school, Baccio d'Agnolo, dates from 1512.
Next to the basilica is the San Marco Museum, located in the adjacent convent, around its famous cloister decorated with frescoes by Fra Angelico.
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