Florence - Parrocchia S Santa Maria Maggiore

By Mark Sukhija

Evidence of a church at the site of the Parrocchia S Santa Maria Maggiore exists from the 8th Century but this church was only documented from 931. The Church was rebuilt in the Gothic style after it passed to the Cistercians in the 13th Century. The basic Cistercian structure is identifiable from a division of naves and aisles by pointed arches above square piers and three chapels in the east end. A late-antique head known as 'Bertha' is set into the truncated Romanesque Belfry. 14th-Century frescoes showing 'King Herod and the Massacre of the Innocents' in the sanctuary are attributed to the Jacopo di Cione and Mariotto di Nardo. The chapel to the left of the choir, houses a painted, guilded bas-relief of the Madonna and Child attributed to Coppo da Mercovaldo and a column from the tomb of Donatellos master - Brunetto Latini.