Florence - Santa Maria del Carmine

This large church stands in the Piazza of the same name, nowadays used for parking, in a busy working-class quarter of Florence. The church, begun in 1268, was not completed until 1476, as can be seen from the fact that there are both Romanesque and Gothic elements along the sides. Remodeled in the 16th and 17th centuries, it was so badly damaged by fire in 1771 that it had to be rebuilt (by Ruggieri and Mannaioni, until 1782). The ground plan of the church is a Latin cross with a single nave flanked by various chapels.