Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute

Uncover the timeless beauty of the Santa Maria Novella Basilica, one of Florence’s most captivating landmarks. Founded by Dominican friars in the early 13th century, this architectural masterpiece showcases a stunning Renaissance façade. Step inside and be mesmerized by world-renowned artworks, including Giotto’s "Crucifix", Masaccio’s "Trinity". Continue your journey through the peaceful Green Cloister, adorned with murals by Paolo Uccello, painted in striking green tones. This cloister was a place of cultivation, where Dominican monks produced rose water to help disinfect during epidemics. Then, they expanded their botanical knowledge, creating herbal remedies, essences, and medicinal balms. Next, visit the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, established in 1612. Located within the original Dominican monastery, this historic pharmacy offers an unforgettable sensory experience with its fragrant herbs, exquisite perfumes, and beauty products.

Although enlarged and redecorated, the basilica retains much of its original structure of the fifth century. In the years following the return of the papacy to Rome from Avignon, part of the church was used as a papal residence until the complete renovation of the Vatican palace. Admire its mosaics of the fifth century, a reliquary that is said to contain a piece of the crib that once held baby Jesus, an ancient icon of the Virgin Mary, the tomb of St. Jerome and the tomb of the artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.There is also the Sistine Chapel in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, dedicated to Pope Sixtus V.