The Piazza della Santissima Annunziata (Place of the Very Holy Annunciation) is a place of the town of Florence of great stylistic harmony due to the buildings which border it of the more great architects of the artistic Renaissance Italy, global design due to Filippo Brunelleschi:

• the Basilica Basilica della Santissima Annunziata towards the principal gantry of the place,

• the Hospital of Innocent the Spedale degli Innocenti ,
• the Loggia dei Served di Maria or It Loggiato della Confraternita dei Served di Maria ,
• the entry of the national archaeological Museum of Florence in the palazzo della Crocetta ,
• the Palazzo Grifoni , today Palazzo Budini-Gattai.

In the middle of the place:

• the equestrian statue of the Large-duke Ferdinand I {{er}} of Médicis, in the center of the place, of Giambologna,
• Two fountains baroques of Pietro Tacca.

Basilica della Santissima Annunziata

This site was chosen by the seven saints founders of the Servi di Maria in 1250 to create an oratory servite, opened on the countryside and out the walls, in a zone called Cafaggio , i.e. wooded area of hunting which arrived of the foot of the slopes of the hill of Fiesole. The oratory, which keeps even a painted miraculous Annunciation (known as the legend) of an angel, becomes the goal of pilgrimages and of processions and it quickly becomes necessary to increase the places by church and a place supplemented of a transportation route towards the center, which will be the Via dei Servi .

The oratory is thus replaced by the current church, built by Michelozzo between 1441 and 1455, qu ' Alberti finishes by crowning it of a cupola then comes the addition from the peristyle of Giovanni Battista Caccini in 1599. A mosaic of Davide Ghirlandaio with the top of the central gate represents an Annunciation.

The gantry is the last of decorations, added in the first years of the 17th century to be connected to the other side walls which frame the whole.

The cloister of deaths

The cloister Saint-Luc (owner of the painters) is decorated with many frescos and the Saint-Luc vault which belongs since 1561 to the Confrérie of the Artists was the place of exposure of their works to Florence. Much of them is buried here, like Benvenuto Cellini, Pontormo, Pérugin, Andrea del Sarto, Giambologna, Pietro Tacca, etc

The military geographical institute

the Istituto Geografico Militare occupies, via Cesare Battisti, most of the ex-general assembly of Freemasons of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata .

Spedale degli Innocenti

On the right (while looking towards the church) the Hospital of Innocent, masterpiece of Brunelleschi, which drew and began the gantry in 1424; it was supplemented by Franscesco della Luna in 1445. The terra cotta medallions representing the emmaillotés children (the innocent ones) are of Andrea della Robbia and go back to 1463, as well as an Annunciation with the tympanum of the court in arcades. In the gallery works are visible of:

• Domenico Ghirlandaio, Worship of the Magi
• Neri di Bicci, Crowning of the Virgin
• Giovanni del Biondo Triptych of the Annunciation
• Botticelli, Madonna with an angel
• Filippino Lippi, Virgin with the Child with an angel
• Piero di Cosimo, Virgin with the Child , Marriage of holy Catherine ,
• Andrea del Sarto, Virgin with the Child and of the angels
• Pontormo, Madonna of Innocent the
• Large fresco of Poccetti , Massacre of the innocent the
• Various works of the workshop of Andrea della Robbia

The Loggia dei Served di Maria

On the left, the loggia of the servants of Marie, the Cinquecento, according to the style of Brunelleschi, by Baccio d' Agnolo and Antonio da Sangallo the Old man of 1516 to 1525.

The statue of Ferdinand Ier by Giambologna

Finished by Pietro Tacca, in 1608, after the death of Giambologna, it commemorates the crowning of the actions of the Large-duke following a similar statue of Giambologna for her father Cosme I {{er}}

The national archaeological museum of Florence

It is in a palate ( palazzo della Crocetta ) donnat on the place, built in 1620 by Giulio Parigi to be the residence of the princess Marie Madeleine de Médicis.

The Grifoni Palate

On grassy grounds pertaining to the order, it is built following a decision of the general prior granting their permission to the townsmen. It is a work of Bartolomeo Ammannati whose work lasted of 1557 to 1563. Become palazzo Riccardi-Manelli , it is today the palazzo Budini-Gattai .

Via dei Been useful

Connecting the place to the center of the city, it opens a prospect until Santa Maria del Fiore.

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