Opera Concerts in Florence

The oratory of Santa Maria Vergine della Croce al Tempio is a historic building in Florence, located near Piazza Santa Croce; in the Middle Ages, from the research carried out, it can be deduced that it was a 'Templar hospital located in Via del Tempio, the original name of the street at the time. When the Templar Order was abolished by Clement V in 1307, in the following years the place became the seat of the Company of Santa Maria della Croce al Tempio, a Florentine brotherhood, founded in 1343 and still existing, which also included illustrious figures such as Lorenzo the Magnificent, Luca della Robbia, Lorenzo Lippi and Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger.

Its architecture suits the period, the facade appears simple with irregular stones arranged in a row, in the center a carved wooden door where two coats of arms can still be recognized today, one of the company and the other of the Torrigiani family.

The interior of the oratory is a single nave room, with a terracotta floor and covered by a trussed roof. The two side walls have two doors with jambs and architrave in pietra serena; Near the presbytery there are two plaques, one of which is the memorial of 1633 placed by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger to remember the generous bequest of one of his ancestor in 1428.

The fresco in the ogive arch of the back wall dates back to 1928 and is a celebration of the Company; In the background you can see the Florentine walls with Porta San Niccolò and the Arno, under the Madonna del Giglio in glory between two angels, with reference to the sacred image adored by the very first brothers in 1343, and two processions meet, the one coming from the right is of the brothers, the one on the left is of illustrious people linked to the brotherhood, starting from Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pope Eugene IV, the Baptist, Saint Francis indicating the Virgin to Savonarola; The fresco was heavily damaged by the Florence flood of 1966.