Florence - Santi Apostoli

According to a Latin inscription on the left of the facade the Church of the Holy Apostles was founded by Charlemagne and dedicated by Archbishop Turpinus. All that is known for certain is that the church was in existence at the end of the 11th c. and was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries (restored between 1930 and 1938). Benedetto da Rovezzano added a fine portal to the Romanesque facade in the early 16th century.

The columns of green marble from Prato with composite capitals (the first two from the nearby Roman baths) which separate the aisles from the nave are a striking feature of the interior. The church and its works of art were badly damaged in the 1966 floods.

Particularly worth seeing are, in the left aisle, a large terracotta tabernacle by Giovanni della Robbia (presbytery) and the tomb of Oddo Altaviti by Benedetto da Rovezzano (1507); and, in the right aisle, a panel of the Immaculate Conception by Vasari (1541, third chapel).