Santa Trinita

Santa Trinita (Italian for "Holy Trinity") is a Roman Catholic church located in front of the piazza of the same name, traversed by Via de' Tornabuoni, in central Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Order of Monks, founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. South on Via de' Tornabuoni is the Ponte Santa Trinita over the river Arno; across the street is the Palazzo Spini Feroni.

History
The church was founded by the Vallombrosians in the 11th century (when it was outside the city walls), and subsequently patronized by many of Florence's wealthiest families. Even though the modern Italian word for "trinity" is trinità, with an accent indicating stress on the last vowel, the old Florentine pronunciation used to put the stress on the first vowel, and the name is therefore written without an accent; sometimes, it is accented as trìnita to indicate the unusual pronunciation.

Santa Trinita was originally built as a simple Romanesque style, named the Church of Santa Maria dello Spasimo. It was built on the site of an earlier Carolingian oratory. Some traces are still visible on the counter-facade. The current church was constructed in 1258–1280 at the site of a pre-existing 11th-century church. It was raised to the rank of minor basilica in the 13th century. Santa Trinita is both a parish church and the monastic church of the Vallombrosan monastery of the same name.

Multiple reconstructions occurred over the centuries. The Mannerist façade (1593–1594) was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti. The bas-relief over the central door of the trinity was sculpted by Pietro Bernini and Giovanni Battista Caccini. The 17th-century wooden doors have carved panels depicting Saints of the Vallumbrosan order. The Column of Justice (Colonna di Giustizia) in the piazza outside, originates from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, and was a gift to Cosimo I de' Medici by Pope Pius IV. It was erected in 1565 to commemorate the Battle of Montemurlo in which Florence defeated Siena.

The Santa Trinita Maestà by Cimabue was once at the high altar of the church, and was later moved to a side chapel. It is now exhibited at the Uffizi.

The former Strozzi Chapel is now the sacristy.

Chapels
The church has approximately 20 chapels, many with masterworks. The most significant are the Sassetti and the Bartolini Salimbeni chapels. Francesco Sassetti had been a manager of the Medici Bank, and some of the Ghirlandaio frescoes capture views of contemporary Florence.