Photographer's Note
The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church of Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza Santa Croce, to the east of the Duomo.
Cappella Pazzi & First CloisterLegend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The current church was probably begun in 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city's wealthiest families. It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV. The church is vast. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its funerary monuments. In 1560, the choir screen was removed and the interior rebuilt by Giorgio Vasari, who damaged the church's decoration in the process. The neo-Gothic facade only dates from 1857-1863. The campanile was built in 1842.
In the Primo Chiostro, the main cloister, is the Cappella dei Pazzi, built as the chapter house by Filippo Brunelleschi between 1442 and 1446 and finally completed in the 1470s. The Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce is housed mainly in the refectory, also off the cloister. A monument to Florence Nightingale stands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. Brunelleschi also built the inner cloister, completed in 1453.
Artists whose work is present in the church:
Benedetto da Maiano (pulpit; doors to Cappella dei Pazzi, with his brother Giuliano)
Antonio Canova (Alfieri's monument)
Cimabue (Crucifixion, badly damaged by the 1966 flood and now in the refectory)
Andrea della Robbia (altarpiece in Cappella Medici)
Luca della Robbia (decoration of Cappella dei Pazzi)
Donatello (relief of the Annunciation on the south wall; crucifix in the lefthand Cappella Bardi; St Louis of Toulouse in the refectory, originally made for the Orsanmichele)
Taddeo Gaddi (frescoes in Cappella Baroncelli; Crucifixion in the sacristy; Last Supper in the refectory, considered his best work)
Giotto (frescoes in Cappella Peruzzi and righthand Cappella Bardi; possibly Coronation of the Virgin, altarpiece in Cappella Baroncelli)
Giovanni da Milano (frescoes in Cappella Rinuccini)
Henry Moore (statue of a warrior in the Primo Chiostro)
Andrea Orcagna (frescoes largely disappeared during Vasari's remodelling, but some fragments remain in the refectory)
Antonio Rossellino (relief of the Madonna del Latte in the south aisle)
Giorgio Vasari (Michelangelo's tomb)
Domenico Veneziano (SS John and Francis in the refectory)
Monuments in the church include those to:
Leon Battista Alberti
Vittorio Alfieri
Eugenio Barsanti
Lorenzo Bartolini
Charlotte Bonaparte
Leonardo Bruni
Dante
Ugo Foscolo
Galileo
Giovanni Gentile
Lorenzo Ghiberti
Vittorio Ghiberti
Niccolς Machiavelli
Carlo Marsuppini
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Raffaello Morgheni
Gioacchino Rossini
Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
From Wikipedia
bantonbuju, pasternak, alekpet, Henryk_Bilor, Izobretenik, Cuba-Junky, cherryripe, papagolf21, ChrisJ, riclopes, designsoul, john_c, delkoo, Quentin, david, Emile, Marylou έχουν(ει) επιλέξει αυτή τη σημείωση ως χρήσιμη
Critiques | Translate
bantonbuju
(51815) 2006-07-03 4:06
ciao paolo,
always good time of the day to photograph, particularly if the buildings are white or in general - light;
a bit uncertain composition - looks like you could not decide if to expose more sky or more of the pavement in front of the church;
other than that - very nice work,
have a good week,
j.
pasternak
(15185) 2006-07-03 4:09
A very beautiful blue hour shot, Paolo. The soft light on the basilica is pleasant. Maybe just a little bit too much of the sky, although its colour is awesome...
Nice one!
Cheers
A.
alekpet
(4663) 2006-07-03 4:11
Hi Paolo.
Blue hour is a beautiful time of day to take a photo.
I wish if you had more floor to the shot and less sky, but it is really hard to decide. Was this handheld? Because if it is, the clarity is very good. I like you included those houses on the left side.
Aleks
P-S-I-G
(25536) 2006-07-03 4:18
Hello Paolo,
Beautiful shot at blue hour. Good sharpness and colors. I like this framing wich shows the place around the church. Well composed.
Best regards,
Fabrice
Henryk_Bilor
(20803) 2006-07-03 4:20
Hello Paolo
Great blue sky over the church. Good composition with nice colours and lights.
Have a nice day.
Izobretenik
(1268) 2006-07-03 4:21
The note was exhausting :) I learned to much things to remember it all ! I love Florence even if I have not been there yet. I don't why but Florence and New York are two towns I don't know which attract me a lot. I absolutely need to go there.
The sky is incredible, almost scary as if a storm was approaching. On the right, is that a restauration plan ?
Izo
PixelTerror
(0) 2006-07-03 4:21
Ciao Paolo,
Is Italia's fate of tomorrow so bad that you feel the need to go praying ???
Nice blue hour view, was it on tripod or hand held ? agree you could have gone for some more pavement and less sky, the basilica is well sharp, the houses on edges are much softer.
Buona giornata & forza Italia !
Jean-Yves
Cuba-Junky
(2817) 2006-07-03 4:26
Hi Paolo,
What a beautiful blue sky! love the falling of night in this shot.
An
donluicu
(24739) 2006-07-03 4:40
CIao Paolo
classical framing in the blue hour...
I'm surprised that your Powershot doesn't give a better result in night shot, but your compo is great..
bye
loic
cherryripe
(21033) 2006-07-03 4:50
Hi Paolo
Beautiful shot of this church taken in a stunning light. I actually don't mind the way the colourful buildings on the left are so inclined nor the scaffolding which looks graphic here. For me there's a good balance between pavement and sky.
Regards
Nikki
marjan
(7) 2006-07-03 4:59
Hi Paolo, excelent shot with fantastic colouires around. Good POV but maybe too much empty space around the churche. Shame for thet renovation part on the buttom.
Marjan
barrufeto_77
(28888) 2006-07-03 5:12
Hi Paolo.
I have a picture 99.9% similar than this one jajajajajaja. Maybe mine was a little earlier.
Nice composition and colours.
Rgs, Oscar
papagolf21
(152599) 2006-07-03 5:44
Bonjour mon ami Paolo,
La grande aire rectangulaire de la place Santa Croce, devant la Basilique franciscaine, nous laisse encore voir aujourd'hui l'origine mιdiιvale de beaucoup de bβtiments qui se dressent sur son pιrimθtre.
La basilique impose le respect par sa beautι (je remarque des ιchafaudages pour redonner toute la splendeur du passι).
Je suis un inconditionnel de ce genre de photo.
Amitiιs.
Philippe
ChrisJ
(159862) 2006-07-03 7:11
Bonjourno Paulo
I like the mood imparted by the cool blue monochromatic color. Good pov & sharpness. Tfs!
riclopes
(35577) 2006-07-03 7:27
Ciao Paolo,
You got a very nice image of this well known church, from which I love the drawing of this front faηade. I like your choice of less ground and more of that marvellous "blue hour" sky. The POV from a distance is good and the central composition is perfect. The result is a very beautiful painting!
Excellent note.
Thanks a lot,
Ricado
designsoul
(17843) 2006-07-03 9:29
Santa Croce bathed in a Paoloesque rich blue light... a lovely colour throughout that makes the blue of the Mediterranean somehow sneak into this lovely shot by Paolo as well :-)... thanks for the superb note too,
Ciao,
sasa
john_c
(24666) 2006-07-03 10:44
Hi Paolo,
A superb winter shot, resonating with the crisp sharp hues and tones of the season with great clarity. You certainly made the most of the blue hour. The exposure level seems just right. I have read the remarks about the amount of sky versus foreground, but I like the large amount of sky here, as it has great texture and the foreground in any event is more shaded. Well done.
John
fabio_ts
(13696) 2006-07-03 11:09
Bellissime luci e stupendi colori notturni in questo bel lavoro Paolo.. complimenti!!
buona serata,
Fabio.
jemaflor
(135252) 2006-07-03 12:12
Hi Paolo,
Impressive light, the better moment to give an original and very lovely effect for this architecture, well done.
delkoo
(68) 2006-07-03 14:49
hi paolo
nice shot from Florence, the light is perfect to give religious mood.
well done
regards
didier
Quentin
(5280) 2006-07-03 20:16
Hi Paolo
Excellente blue colors domination. Your photo is beautiful
with an excellent light and These church is also very nice. I
should visit this place once. Well done. Ciao
Quentin
saigon
(6443) 2006-07-04 6:01
ahhh FIRENSE!!....la capitiale des arts!
bien jolie capture hivernale!
amitiιs....aldo.
david
(3992) 2006-07-04 7:21
that's the longest note i've ever seen! :) hehe!
really great shot and i like the blues that you've caught in the almost night moment after sunset.
i disagree with pasternak about the sky. i think your framing is perfect. the street in the foreground is boring. you were right to crop it out and use more of the nice texture in the cloudy sky.
i love these evening shots where there's lots of ambient light, but the street and house lights are on. it creates a nice effect.
Cricri
(176) 2006-07-04 7:52
Hello Paolo,
Belle image nocturne, POV, couleurs, dιtails de cette trιs belle ιglise, un ciel superbe
bonne journιe
cricri
Emile
(20352) 2006-07-05 19:29
Hola Paolo.
This is an excellent shot taken at blue hour, very good composition with the beautiful church and colours contrast.
Well done, TFS.
sebinho342
(19329) 2006-07-07 4:33
Hi Paolo, eh eh we will meet in final ! :)) Hope to see a beautiful game and goals before penalty session ! ;))
I like this picture, i think i saw nearly exactly the same by barrufetto perhaps ... Florence seems to be marvelous and each person that come back from here tell me that !
This is an excellent blue hour picture, congratulations Paolo :)
Didi
(61587) 2006-07-13 15:05
Ciao Paolo
C'est ce qu'on appelle une belle image ΰ l'heure bleue (Crιpuscule).
Je note surtout une bonne maξtrise de la lumiθre.
Va bene
Ciao Paolo
C'θ ciς che si chiamano una bella immagine all'ora blu (crepuscolo).
Noto soprattutto un buono controllo della luce. Va bene
Marylou
(254) 2006-08-13 9:27
Fotografia graziosa. Questo blu, questa serenitΰ data da caduta dalla notte, queste luci filtrate…. un godimento! Grazie Paolo di farci condividere questi momenti :-)
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Paolo Motta (Paolo)
(41258)
- Genre: Τοποθεσίες
- Medium: Έγχρωμο
- Date Taken: 2005-01-04
- Categories: Αρχιτεκτονική
- Camera: Canon PowerShot S410
- Έκδοση φωτογραφίας: Πρωτότυπη έκδοση
- Date Submitted: 2006-07-03 3:59
Discussions
- To Izobretenik: re (1)
by Paolo, last updated 2006-07-03 04:30 - To PixelTerror: re (7)
by Paolo, last updated 2006-07-03 06:02