Chiesa di Santo – a very special venue in Florence

29/03/2011 Italy

The Firenze Convention Bureau has a new and rather original member: Chiesa di Santo. This is a disused Church, which opens its doors as a special venue.

The church dates to at least 1116, and presents a Romanesque façade whose lower half is even older, with simple doors bordered by architraves, and arches. The main entrance, which has a two-coloured stone moulding, is late 13th century. The church was badly damaged during the Second World War, and again by the 1966 flood.

The interior is rectangular, and originally had three aisles, which were merged into a single nave by F. Tacca between 1649 and 1655. The roof has exposed trellis-beams that are at two different elevations.

The front half of the church has altars from the 1500s, while the back half is architecturally subdivided into two orders that open towards the presbytery, which is proceeded by an interesting marble staircase with balustrades of a kind Bernardo Buontalenti had already placed in the Santa Trinita.

The church has now been deconsecrated, and hosts "unconventional" congresses and seminars, special events, gala dinners and also classical music performances. The Church venue can hold up to 500 pax.

For more information, contact the Florence Convention Bureau.