This is the second episode of the special series “Florence told by our rooms”, and we are honored to celebrate the beautiful and full of history Santa Croce. It is the largest Franciscan church in the world and has been a fundamental beacon of attraction associated with St. Francis of Assisi, Italy’s patron saint since 1939.

According to tradition, the first companions of Francis arrived in Florence as early as 1209. The city was growing, wool was being worked and fabrics were exported throughout Europe, and to meet the demand for labor, many peasants left the fields to settle in the suburbs, settlements built outside the walls. The friars of the new mendicant religious orders settled among these inhabitants: the Franciscans chose the north bank of the Arno, in a marshy area often invaded by the river’s floods. In 1228, when Francis was proclaimed a saint two years after his death, the church of Santa Croce was mentioned for the first time.

Between 1252 and 1267, the first building was replaced by a second, but even this soon became insufficient to contain the faithful, and a much larger complex was planned: the foundation stone of the current church was laid on May 3, 1294 (or 1295, the year is disputed). The main Florentine architect, Arnolfo di Cambio, was entrusted with the project, and before his death between 1302 and 1310, the part of the apse was almost completed.

After the transept, work proceeded to the aisles, until the completion of the works around the end of the 14th century, but the church was only consecrated in 1443 by Pope Eugene IV. Santa Croce – whose shape evokes the habit of St. Francis.

Santa Croce in Tower

Santa Croce has chapels opening onto the transept and three aisles separated by pillars with pointed arches. The vertical thrust that characterizes Gothic buildings is softened by the walkway above the arches and by the roof which, instead of ogival vaults, has wooden beams. From the 14th century, the walls were decorated with frescoes.

Throughout its eight centuries of history, the spaces of the monumental complex have continued to evolve: the basilica has undergone numerous renovations, especially to accommodate the funerary monuments that have made Santa Croce the “temple of Italian glories”; the ancient conventual spaces, such as the Novitiate corridor and the Refectory, have been rearranged to protect paintings at risk from flooding, such as Cimabue’s Crucifix or Vasari’s Last Supper, and the underground areas have been dedicated to the memory of Florentines fallen in the two World Wars.

Inside our room 62, you can feel the atmosphere of Santa Croce, its beauty and what it represents to the Florentine architecture and history. The motif related to the Rose Window of the Basilica is evoked in the headboard of the bed, resembling a porthole, offering a view from the living room to the room and the wonderful panorama enjoyed from the windows overlooking the Arno River.

The ceiling has been kept in wood to maintain the original essence of the structure, somewhat reminiscent of the sumptuous wooden ceiling with carved and gilded octagonal coffers of the Basilica of Santa Croce. The marble used for the bathroom mirrors the colors of the facade, thus presenting every decorative aspect as a source of inspiration.

As you know, staying in a historic residence means immersing yourself in Florence’s history, and choosing Room 62 will allow you to feel even more connected to the beauty and tradition of our city.

Would you like to have this experience? Book now!