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Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella is a Dominican church in Florence. It is considered the most important Romano-Gothic church in Tuscany and is a World Heritage Site. Its construction started in 1290 and it took almost 200 years to be completed. It was consecrated in 1420.

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.

Sources: open data from Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap · Updated August 5, 2026 · Edited by the World by City editors

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Tickets & tours

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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 built between the 16th and 17th centuries as an extension to the Basilica of San Lorenzo, in the Italian city of Florence. They are the Sagrestia Nuova, designed by Michelangelo, and the larger Cappella dei Principi, a collaboration between the Medici family and architects. The purpose of the chapels was to celebrate the Medici family, patrons of the church and Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

0.3 km away
Ognissanti Church

Museums & galleries

Ognissanti Church

The chiesa di San Salvatore di Ognissanti, or more simply chiesa di Ognissanti, is a Franciscan church located on the eponymous piazza in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. Founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, the church was dedicated to all the saints and martyrs, known and unknown.

0.3 km away
Basilica of San Lorenzo

Museums & galleries

Basilica of San Lorenzo

The Basilica di San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the main market district of the city, and it is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence, having been consecrated in 393 AD, at which time it stood outside the city walls. For three hundred years it was the city's cathedral, before the official seat of the bishop was transferred to Santa Reparata.

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Tomb of Antipope John XXIII

Heritage & monuments

Tomb of Antipope John XXIII

The marble-and-bronze tomb monument of Antipope John XXIII was created by Donatello and Michelozzo for the Florence Baptistry adjacent to the Duomo. It was commissioned by the executors of Cossa's will after his death on 22 December 1419, and completed during the 1420s, establishing it as one of the early landmarks of Renaissance Florence. According to Ferdinand Gregorovius, the tomb is "at once the sepulchre of the Great Schism in the church and the last papal tomb which is outside Rome itself".

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Florence Baptistery

Temples & religious sites

Florence Baptistery

The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy. Dedicated to the patron saint of the city, John the Baptist, it has been a focus of religious, civic, and artistic life since its completion. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, between Florence Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace.

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Basilica of the Holy Trinity

Temples & religious sites

Basilica of the Holy Trinity

Santa Trinita is a Roman Catholic church located in front of the piazza of the same name, traversed by Via de' Tornabuoni, in central Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Order of Monks, founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. South on Via de' Tornabuoni is the Ponte Santa Trinita over the river Arno; across the street is the Palazzo Spini Feroni.

0.5 km away