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Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

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Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella is a Dominican church, one of the major Gothic churches of Tuscany, built between 1290 and the late 1400s and consecrated in 1420. Visitors come mainly for the marble facade and the church interior, including the adjoining cloisters and chapter house, which hold Renaissance frescoes and artworks from the church's construction period. It rewards travellers interested in medieval and early Renaissance art and architecture rather than casual sightseers.

Getting there

The basilica sits right by Florence's main train station, Santa Maria Novella, so most visitors arrive on foot within a few minutes of stepping off the train. From the historic centre (Duomo, Piazza della Signoria), it's a walk of about 10-15 minutes. If arriving by air, both Florence (FLR) and Pisa (PSA) airports connect to the city centre by train or shuttle bus, from which the church is an easy walk.

Time to allow

Plan on roughly 45 minutes to an hour for the church interior, and longer, up to 1.5-2 hours, if you also visit the cloisters and museum spaces attached to it.

When to go

Mornings tend to be quieter, before tour groups arrive later in the day. Because of its location next to the train station, the surrounding piazza can be busy with transiting travellers at most hours, though this doesn't necessarily reflect crowding inside the church itself.

Combine with

  • Ognissanti Church (0.3km) — another Florentine church within easy walking distance.
  • Medici Chapels (0.3km) and Basilica of San Lorenzo (0.4km) — grouped together near San Lorenzo, making for a natural extension of a church-focused walk.
  • Tomb of Antipope John XXIII (0.4km) — located inside the San Lorenzo complex, worth combining with that stop.

Updated September 20, 2026 · Edited by the World by City editors

Tickets & tours

Admission prices and opening hours change often, so we don't list them here. Check what's on sale and at what price below — booking ahead can cut the queue at some places.

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Stays near Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

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Good to visit alongside

Medici Chapels

Museums & galleries

Medici Chapels

The Medici Chapels are two chapels attached to the Basilica of San Lorenzo that served as the mausoleum of the Medici family. Michelangelo's New Sacristy houses tomb sculptures he carved himself, while the adjoining Chapel of the Princes is a grand octagonal hall whose walls are covered entirely in colorful marble and semiprecious stones.

0.3 km away
Ognissanti Church

Museums & galleries

Ognissanti Church

The Church of Ognissanti is a Franciscan church on Piazza di Ognissanti in central Florence, founded by the Umiliati lay order and dedicated to all saints and martyrs. Unlike the crowds around the Duomo, it offers a relatively quiet setting to admire Renaissance frescoes, making it especially rewarding for travelers interested in art history.

0.3 km away
Basilica of San Lorenzo

Museums & galleries

Basilica of San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo is a basilica in the heart of Florence's central market district, home to the tombs of leading Medici family members from Cosimo the Elder to Cosimo III. Said to have been consecrated in 393, it is one of Florence's oldest churches and served as the city's cathedral for about 300 years before the seat moved to Santa Reparata.

0.4 km away
Tomb of Antipope John XXIII

Heritage & monuments

Tomb of Antipope John XXIII

This is the tomb monument of Antipope John XXIII (Baldassarre Cossa), located inside the Baptistery of San Giovanni next to the Duomo. Made of marble and bronze by Donatello and Michelozzo, it was commissioned by Cossa's executors and completed in the 1420s following his death on December 22, 1419.

0.4 km away
Florence Baptistery

Temples & religious sites

Florence Baptistery

Also known as the Baptistery of San Giovanni, this octagonal building is dedicated to Florence's patron saint, John the Baptist, and stands between Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni, flanked by the Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace. Visitors come for the relief-carved bronze doors and the mosaics covering the interior ceiling, and together with the Cathedral it has long been a center of the city's religious life.

0.5 km away
Basilica of the Holy Trinity

Temples & religious sites

Basilica of the Holy Trinity

Santa Trinita is a Roman Catholic church in central Florence, standing before the piazza of the same name. Via de' Tornabuoni, the city's famous shopping street, runs past its front, and the church also serves as the mother church of the Vallombrosan Order, founded by a Florentine nobleman in 1092.

0.5 km away