Santi Apostoli (Florence)

Church of Santi Apostoli (Chiesa dei Santi Apostoli)
The unfinished façade of Santi Apostoli
Basic information
Location	Florence, Italy
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Province	Florence
Country	Italy
Architectural type	Church

The Church of Santi Apostoli is a Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church in the historic center of Florence, in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is among the oldest church buildings in Florence.

The church was built in the 11th century, and though remodelled in the 15th and 16th centuries, is one of the few in the city to have maintained its High Middle Age features. Tradition recalls that Michelangelo convinced Bindo Altoviti, who planned to raise the ground level, not to rebuild, but instead preserve the church. It faces the Piazza del Limbo (Limbo Square), so-called because in Medieval times it housed a cemetery for children and infants who had died before being baptized. It is adjacent to the Palazzo Borgherini-Rosselli del Turco.

A slab on the façade attributes the foundation to Charlemagne and his paladin Roland, in the year 800, but scholars assign it to the 11th century. A small bell tower was added by Baccio d'Agnolo in the 16th century.

The simple façade, in Romanesque style, has a portal attributed to Benedetto da Rovezzano.

The plan, with a nave and two aisles with a semicircular apse, still shows Palaeo-Christian influences. It has green marble columns from Prato with capitals stripped from ancient Roman remains (the Corinthian ones probably coming from the baths existing in the area). The richly decorated wooden ceiling was added in 1333. Noteworthy is the pavement, with a mosaic from the original edifice which was later restored with the contributions of outstanding Florentine families (Acciaioli, Altoviti and others). the apse area has maintained the Romanesque appearance, with undecorated stones visible. The side chapels are from the 16th century.