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The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church of Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza Santa Croce, to the east of the Duomo.
Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The current church was probably begun in 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city's wealthiest families. In 1439, the Council of Florence, designed to heal the schism between Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, was held at Santa Croce.
The church is vast. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoXIV Century fresco featuring Saint Sebastian Note: Fresco is the NATO reporting name of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. In painting, the term fresco (pl. frescoes comes from the Italian phrase buon fresco ("really fresh") a technical term in opposition to ines by Giotto and his pupils, and its funerary monuments. In 1560Events February 27 The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. July 6 Treaty of Edinburgh between England, France, the choir screen was removed and the interior rebuilt by Giorgio VasariGiorgio Vasari ( Arezzo, Tuscany July 3, 1511 Florence, June 27, 1574) was an Italian painter and architect, mainly known for his famous biographies of Italian artists. At a very early age he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia, a very skilful painte, who damaged the church's decoration in the process. The neo-Gothic facade only dates from 1857Events January 9 Earthquake at Fort Tejon, California with an estimated magnitude of 7. 9 February 16 The National Deaf Mute College (later renamed Gallaudet University) is established in Washington, DC becoming the first school for the advanced education- 1863Events January-March January 1 Abraham Lincoln delivers the Emancipation Proclamation during the second year of the American Civil War. January 1 The first claim under the Homestead Act is made for a farm in Nebraska January 8 Ground is broken in Sacramen. The campanileA campanile (pronounced cam-pa-nee-lay) is, especially in Italy, a free-standing bell-tower (Italian campana 'bell') adjacent to a church or cathedral. The most famous Campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Other notable campaniles include St Ma was built in 1842Events February 21 John J. Greenough patents the sewing machine. March 5 Over 500 Mexican troops led by Rafael Vasquez invade Texas briefly occupy San Antonio and then head back to the Rio Grande. This is the first such invasion since the Texas Revolution.
In the Primo Chiostro, the main cloister, is the Cappella dei Pazzi, built as the chapter house by Filippo Brunelleschi between 1442 and 1446 and finally completed in the 1470s. The Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce is housed mainly in the refectory , also off the cloister. A monument to Florence Nightingale stands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. Brunelleschi also built the inner cloister, completed in 1453.