FROM MEDIEVAL PAINTING TO A NEW WORLD
With Giotto, bodies acquire weight, space becomes believable and sacred stories take on the rhythm of human life.
Following Giotto in Florence means exploring churches, museums and squares where Western painting changed direction: from the Crucifix in Santa Maria Novella to the chapels of Santa Croce, from the Uffizi’s Ognissanti Madonna to the Bell Tower of Florence Cathedral.
AN ART-HISTORY LESSON IN FRONT OF THE WORKS
Discover Giotto with Giulia Bacci
I am Giulia Bacci, a licensed tour guide and art historian in Florence. During the tour, we examine composition, gestures, architecture, light and viewpoints to understand what makes Giotto’s art so profoundly innovative.
LEARNING TO LOOK AT GIOTTO
Three keys to understanding Giotto
01
Physical presence
The figures have weight, volume and substance. Their bodies occupy space and respond to gravity.
02
Space and architecture
Thrones, buildings and interiors are not mere decorations: they organise the scene and make each action believable.
03
Gestures and emotions
Glances, movements and silences transform sacred episodes into stories capable of engaging the viewer.
Giotto and the birth of a new way of seeing
Giotto di Bondone was probably born around 1267 in the Mugello area and died in Florence in 1337. His career took him to several Italian cities, but Florence preserves works that reveal different stages of his development, from his youth to his final years.
His painting does not abandon the medieval world: it transforms it from within. Gold backgrounds, sacred stories and traditional conventions acquire a new sense of reality. The figures appear to inhabit the viewer’s space, while emotions become an essential part of the narrative.
Giotto’s research prepared the way for many later developments in Florentine art. Continue the journey with the page devoted to the artists who made Florence great.
“Giotto translated the art of painting from Greek into Latin and made it modern.”
Cennino Cennini, The Craftsman’s Handbook
The sentence captures the scale of the change: Giotto did not erase tradition but gave it a new, more concrete, narrative and human language.
CHURCHES, MUSEUMS AND ARCHITECTURE
Giotto’s principal works in Florence
The itinerary links Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, the Uffizi and the Cathedral complex, following Giotto’s development as both painter and architect.
01
Santa Maria Novella: the Crucifix
Giotto’s monumental Crucifix, probably painted between 1288 and 1289, hangs above the central nave of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella.
Christ’s body no longer follows an abstract line: it weighs upon the cross, the head bends and the torso and legs occupy tangible space. The image preserves the solemnity of medieval painting while introducing a new physical and emotional presence.
Its elevated position means that the work must also be observed from a distance. Its proportions, the inclination of the body and the intensity of the face were conceived in relation to the nave and the gaze of the faithful.
02
Santa Croce: the Peruzzi and Bardi chapels
In the Basilica of Santa Croce, Giotto developed pictorial narrative on a monumental scale. The Peruzzi Chapel preserves the Stories of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, probably painted around 1310-1311.
In the Bardi Chapel, painted after 1317 and perhaps completed by 1325, the Stories of Saint Francis are concentrated into seven episodes. Architecture, groups of figures, gestures and pauses guide the eye and make the narrative immediately understandable.
The two chapels reveal how Giotto constructed space and transformed each scene into a human experience. Before visiting, check the current access conditions: the Bardi Chapel is undergoing major conservation work.
03
The Uffizi: the Ognissanti Madonna and Badia Polyptych
At the Uffizi Gallery, the Ognissanti Madonna can be compared with the monumental panels by Cimabue and Duccio. This comparison reveals the transition towards more solid figures and a more convincing pictorial space.
In the Ognissanti Madonna, dated to around 1300-1305, the throne becomes a real architectural structure. The angels occupy different spatial planes and the Virgin’s body acquires volume beneath her mantle. The gold background remains, but the scene possesses a new sense of depth.
The same room contains the Badia Polyptych, painted for the Badia Fiorentina. Seeing it beside the Ognissanti Madonna allows us to compare a monumental public image with a composition divided into several figures.
04
The Bell Tower: Giotto as architect
In 1334, Giotto was entrusted with directing the construction of the bell tower of Santa Maria del Fiore. He produced the design and began the first levels of the tower but died three years later.
The building site passed first to Andrea Pisano and then to Francesco Talenti, who completed the tower in 1359 after modifying the original project. Its white, red and green marble cladding connects the Bell Tower visually with the Cathedral and Baptistery.
In its decorative programme, human labour, the arts, virtues and prophets transform the tower into a narrative of medieval civilisation. To plan your visit, see the page devoted to Florence Cathedral and the Duomo complex.
BEYOND THE BEST-KNOWN SITES
Other traces of Giotto in Florence
01
Badia Fiorentina
The polyptych now in the Uffizi was painted for the Badia Fiorentina, one of the oldest religious sites in the city centre.
02
Horne Museum
The Horne Museum preserves Saint Stephen, a panel painted around 1330-1335 and one of the masterpieces of the collection.
03
Accademia Gallery
The Accademia Gallery displays a detached fresco fragment showing a shepherd’s head, originally from the Badia Fiorentina and dating to around 1320.
04
Bargello and Giotto’s followers
In the Magdalene Chapel at the Bargello Museum, paintings associated with Giotto’s school reveal the spread of his language in fourteenth-century Florence.
TAILORED ITINERARIES
Three possible tour formats
01
Giotto the painter
Santa Maria Novella and the Uffizi, comparing the Crucifix, the Ognissanti Madonna and the Badia Polyptych.
02
Giotto and storytelling
Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, exploring mural painting, monumental painted crosses and the spaces of medieval churches.
03
Complete itinerary
The Uffizi, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, the Duomo and a lesser-known museum, divided between a full day or two separate visits.
AN ITINERARY BUILT AROUND YOU
Who the itinerary is designed for
01
Individuals and couples
A flexible tour with time to observe the works and explore personal interests.
02
Families
Space, gestures, colours and characters make the story accessible to younger visitors.
03
Small groups
A participatory tour combining explanation, observation and walking through the city.
04
Associations
In-depth visits devoted to medieval painting, artistic patronage and the history of Florence.
05
First visit to Florence
Giotto provides a unifying thread connecting some of the city’s most important monuments.
06
Returning visitors
The Badia, Horne Museum and fourteenth-century painting offer a less familiar route through Florence.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions about Giotto in Florence
Which works by Giotto can be seen in Florence?
The principal works include the Crucifix in Santa Maria Novella, the Peruzzi and Bardi chapels in Santa Croce, the Ognissanti Madonna and Badia Polyptych in the Uffizi, Saint Stephen in the Horne Museum and the fragment showing a shepherd’s head in the Accademia Gallery.
Was Giotto a medieval or Renaissance artist?
Giotto belongs historically to the medieval period, but his representation of bodies, space and emotions prepared the way for several fundamental developments in Renaissance art.
Are Giotto’s frescoes in Santa Croce visible?
The Bardi Chapel is currently undergoing conservation work, and the Stories of Saint Francis are not visible during the restoration. Always check the official notices before visiting. Access conditions for the Peruzzi Chapel may depend on the organisation of the complex.
Was Giotto’s Bell Tower built entirely by Giotto?
No. Giotto designed the Bell Tower and began its construction in 1334. After his death in 1337, the work continued under Andrea Pisano and Francesco Talenti, who completed it in 1359.
How long does a Giotto itinerary take?
It depends on the sites selected. Two monuments can form a focused itinerary; linking churches, the Uffizi and the Duomo is better suited to a full day or two separate tours.
Is the tour suitable for families?
Yes. The narrative can be adapted through gestures, characters, colours, architectural spaces and simple visual comparisons between the works.
How can I request availability and a price?
In the form below, include your preferred date or period, number of participants, language, group composition, desired duration and the sites that interest you most.
GIOTTO IN FLORENCE WITH AN ART HISTORIAN
Plan your itinerary devoted to Giotto
Together we can create an itinerary through painted crosses, chapels, museums and architecture, selecting the sites best suited to your time and interests.
In the form, indicate your preferred date or period, number of participants, language, duration, desired sites and any tickets already purchased.
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