The Art, History and Architecture of Florentine Churches

Churches and palaces in Florence have been the subject matter of book-length, often multi-volume studies over the centuries. This book is a compendium of the main churches in Florence and has been written with two distinct audiences in mind: English-speaking students of Renaissance art, architecture, literature and history and the well-read traveller to Florence who wishes to place the works of art and architecture into the wider context of Italian culture.The choice of churches discussed here was influenced by the author's experience as teacher for several university programmes on site in Florence. The buildings described and analysed are those which students will most likely encounter in the course of their study-abroad stay in Florence, whether they wish to specialise in art, architecture or the history of the Florentine Renaissance.This book represents a textbook that offers concise information on the history, art, and architecture of 25 of the main Florentine churches, provides plans and photos of the façades, and introduces the student to some of the most important vocabulary and the main textual sources of the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries.

About the Author :
Andrea M. Gáldy, PhD, taught different aspects of Renaissance art in Florence, Italian architectural history and Italian Renaissance history for study-abroad university programmes in Florence between 2006 and 2012. During this time, she took the decision to condense her experience as a teacher into a book that would make this information available to a wider audience.

Review :
'Creating a history of Florentine churches in a single volume is a monumental task, as many of the buildings have been the subject of extensive and lengthy scholarship over the years. This book achieves its goal by tackling the main churches of Florence one by one, in a series of focused chapters. Each chapter takes the reader on an informative tour through the building, complete with photographs and plans. The text is packed with extensive, informative, and pertinent detail about the church's architecture, fittings, decorations, and history. Particularly valuable are the accompanying source references, including translations from key texts of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, which create a compelling historical context for each structure. Clear, concise, and complete, this book will be a valuable tool for students and lovers of Florence alike.'Rebecca Tucker, PhDAssociate Professor, Colorado College; Director, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Museum'Students and inquisitive travelers will welcome Galdy's intelligent, thorough, and passionate study of the central churches of Florence—and much more. The book carefully examines the history, art, and architecture of the most important religious places in the beloved Tuscan city. Readers will especially welcome Galdy's clear and engaging writing as she invites them into the great richness and inspiration of 25 leading Florentine churches. The book transported me in memory back to my favorite churches and places in Florence. Beautiful, informative, and well-referenced photographs add much to this impressive study. Galdy's book will surely travel with me on my next visit to Florence. This fine study deserves a wide audience.'Francis T. HannafeyFairfield University'Like Professor Andrea Gáldy, I spent many brisk and verdant spring weeks of my teaching career taking well-prepared undergraduate students to Italy, and Florence was always the longest stay. If I were to take a group again, and especially if I was to focus primiarily on Florence, I would not only take Gáldy's book along myself, but I would insist that the students read it before leaving home. Gáldy's book fills a void in the history and scholarship of Florentine art and architecture.'Sara Nair James, Mary Baldwin UniversitySixteenth Century Journal'Previously, only relatively inaccessible and cumbersome texts for specialists—Walter and Elisabeth Paatz's magisterial Die Kirchen von Florenz being prime among them—could allow a diligent student to realize what has been removed, destroyed, or lost from the churches in Florence. Thus, one can imagine Donatello's four saints, each tenfeet tall and made from stucco, set up on the moulding of the transept in San Lorenzo. What saints were they? And what message did they convey as they looked down at the congregation? As is befitting a book aimed at the general reader, the bibliography is trim, mainly focusing on larger studies rather than on the specific studies and journal articles. Lastly, size matters: this is definitely a book one can carry around on planes and in luggage.'Elizabeth Pillod, Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme, 2018