Church of Santa Maria Novella

The church of Santa Maria Novella was built by Dominican friars during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and is considered the masterpiece of early Italian Gothic architecture. Commissioned by the Rucellai family, the facade was completed in 1438 by Leon Battista Alberti, who blended Gothic elements with those belonging to the new Renaissance language. The interior is one of the biggest town "museums" because of the works which are kept here: from the Crucifix by Giotto to the one by Brunelleschi, from Masaccio's Trinity to the cycle of frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio.