MASACCIO, MASOLINO AND THE HEART OF THE OLTRARNO
A Carmelite church, a great mendicant square and the Brancacci Chapel: here early Renaissance painting forever changed the representation of space, the body and human emotion.
The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine is one of the principal religious sites of the Oltrarno. Its convent contains the Brancacci Chapel, frescoed by Masolino, Masaccio and Filippino Lippi, one of the great laboratories of Renaissance painting.
YOUR PRIVATE GUIDE IN FLORENCE
Visit Santa Maria del Carmine and the Brancacci Chapel with Giulia Bacci
I am Giulia Bacci, a licensed tour guide and art historian in Florence. I can guide you through the Church, Cloister and Brancacci Chapel, planning the route around access arrangements, booking and the time available.
THE CARMELITES IN THE OLTRARNO
The church, convent and new square
The Carmelites were present in Florence before 1267. Devotion to the Madonna del Popolo and the growth of the order encouraged the construction of a large religious complex in the district.
The foundation stone of the church and convent was laid on 30 June 1268. A broad square was created in front of the building, as had happened for the Dominicans at Santa Maria Novella and the Franciscans at Santa Croce.
The mendicant revolution
Preaching used the vernacular, the language of the people. Squares became places for gathering, prayer and sacred theatre, introducing a new urban dimension beyond the ancient Roman quarter.
Four dates that explain the monument
1268
Foundation stone of the Carmelite church and convent.
1422
Consecration of the church; Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masolino were portrayed in Masaccio’s lost Sagra fresco.
1568
Giorgio Vasari removes the rood screen and alters the aisles for Cosimo I.
1771
A fire destroys much of the interior; the Brancacci and Corsini Chapels survive.
FROM THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH TO RECONSTRUCTION
The unfinished façade, Vasari and the fire of 1771
The church façade was never completed. In the sixteenth century Vasari opened new chapels along the aisles and reorganised the liturgical space in response to post-Tridentine needs.
On 29 January 1771, a terrible fire destroyed the ceiling, furnishings and much of the decoration. Giuseppe Ruggeri and Giulio Mannaioni were commissioned to rebuild the church.
The Corsini Chapel
Spared by the fire, it is one of Florence’s most important Baroque interiors. Pier Francesco Silvani designed its architecture from 1675, Luca Giordano frescoed the dome and Giovan Battista Foggini created its great marble works.
ENTRANCE TO THE BRANCACCI CHAPEL
The Cloister, Sala Vanni and separate entrances
The earliest cloister dates from the first phases of the Basilica and was rebuilt between 1597 and 1612. The ticket office and entrance to the Brancacci Chapel are reached from here.
The route also includes the Sala Vanni, with the Last Supper by Alessandro Allori and a fresco by Giovan Battista Vanni, as well as the Sala della Colonna.
Note the separate entrances: the Church is entered through its façade, while the Brancacci Chapel is visited through the Cloister at Piazza del Carmine 14.
PATRONAGE, POLITICS AND FAMILY MEMORY
Felice Brancacci and family prestige
For centuries the chapel belonged to the Brancacci, wealthy textile merchants. Felice di Michele Brancacci, a silk merchant, diplomat and politician, commissioned the fresco cycle as a visible expression of family prestige.
Felice married Lena Strozzi and took part in the expulsion of Cosimo the Elder in 1433. When the Medici returned, the Strozzi allies were exiled and the Brancacci family suffered a damnatio memoriae in 1458.
The cycle remained unfinished for decades. After the ban on the family was lifted, Filippino Lippi harmoniously completed the frescoes in the 1480s.
FELICE BRANCACCI
For centuries the chapel belonged to the Brancacci, wealthy textile merchants. Felice di Michele Brancacci, a silk merchant, diplomat and politician, commissioned the fresco cycle as a visible expression of family prestige.
THE PANTHEON OF RENAISSANCE PAINTING
The Brancacci Chapel
The cycle is devoted to the Stories of Saint Peter. Masolino and Masaccio worked together in 1425; after Masolino’s departure and Masaccio’s early death, Filippino Lippi completed the undertaking many years later.
Masolino da Panicale
Elegance, refined colour and continuity with late Gothic culture, already moving towards greater solidity.
Masaccio
Coherent light, perspective, three-dimensional bodies and human emotion radically transform painting.
Filippino Lippi
He completes the cycle while respecting the earlier scheme and introducing the restless sensitivity of the later fifteenth century.
Temptation and Expulsion: two artistic languages
Masolino · The Temptation
Adam and Eve have smooth, composed bodies in a suspended atmosphere. The fig tree recalls the Mediterranean tradition of the tree of knowledge.
Masaccio · The Expulsion
Grief erupts through gestures, faces and the weight of the bodies. Light models the figures like sculpture and makes the drama immediately human.
A school for the great masters
The Brancacci Chapel became a place of study for generations of artists, including Raphael and Michelangelo. Vasari also places at the Carmine the episode in which Pietro Torrigiano’s punch permanently marked the young Michelangelo’s face.
PLANNING YOUR VISIT
The Church and Chapel have separate access arrangements
The Brancacci Chapel is managed separately from entry to the Church. Availability, time slots and procedures may change, so always check the official information.
Chapel entrance
Enter through the Cloister at Piazza del Carmine 14, not through the church façade.
Booking
Online booking is strongly recommended, including for free tickets, because access is limited.
Time in the Chapel
Current official arrangements allow a maximum stay of 30 minutes in the Chapel.
IN THE HEART OF THE OLTRARNO
Where Santa Maria del Carmine is located
The Church overlooks Piazza del Carmine, a short walk from Santo Spirito, Piazza Tasso and Palazzo Pitti.
The visit can be included in an itinerary devoted to the Oltrarno, the mendicant orders or the birth of Renaissance painting.
BEFORE YOUR VISIT
Frequently asked questions about Santa Maria del Carmine and the Brancacci Chapel
Do the Church and Brancacci Chapel have the same entrance?
No. The Church is entered through its façade, while the Brancacci Chapel is visited through the Cloister at Piazza del Carmine 14.
Should I book the Brancacci Chapel?
Booking is strongly recommended because admission is limited and organised by time slot.
Who painted the frescoes?
The cycle was begun by Masolino and Masaccio and completed many years later by Filippino Lippi.
What is the subject of the cycle?
The frescoes depict the Stories of Saint Peter, accompanied at the entrance by the Temptation and Expulsion of Adam and Eve.
How long does a guided tour take?
Time in the Chapel is governed by the admission slot. The visit can also include the Church, Cloister and Corsini Chapel, depending on opening arrangements.
PERSONALISED GUIDED TOUR
Discover Santa Maria del Carmine and the Brancacci Chapel with Giulia
Tell me your preferred date, number of participants and time available. We will create a visit devoted to Masaccio, Masolino, Filippino Lippi and the Carmelite history of the Oltrarno.
You can also use the form, indicating the date, number of participants, preferred language and whether you wish to visit the Church, Cloister and Brancacci Chapel.
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