Santo Spirito

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The Basilica di Santo Spirito is located in Florence, Italy and was worked on from the years 1434 to 1482. Santo Spirito was designed by the famous architect Filippo Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi died before the building was completed, however the project was still completed by some of his successors: Antonio Manetti, Giobanni da Gaiole, and Salvi d’Andrea. Salvi d’Andrea was also responsible for the construction of the cupola. Antiono Manetti was one of the main people who helped with the construction after Brunelleschi’s death. He was an Italian mathematician and architect from Florence, who also took on the role of Brunelleschi’s biographer. Overall the church of San Spirito was built as the younger twin of the church San Lorenzo. However …show more content…

The intended barrel vault for the nave and transept was built as a flat ceiling so there wasn’t as much conflicting contrast between those two ceilings. Also, his idea of a four-door façade was replaced with the traditional three door façade. What his original design intended for the church was a culmination of his design details that were successful or maybe a solution to the fallbacks he had in some of his other works. While detail is a large part of some of his other buildings, Santo Spirito shows very little detail on the …show more content…

Pietra Serena is a greenish-grey sandstone that is used in the Medici Chapel by Michelangelo and also in the Pazzi Chapel. It is used in both of those buildings on the columns, moldings and cornices as architectural details. However, the use of Peitra Serena in Santo Spirito is different than the use of it in the Pazzi Chapel. Due to Brunelleschi’s mathematical way about designing, his proportions help the use of this material. Because this building is very successful in terms of proportions, there is a sculptural language that is created from using Peitra Serena which contributes to the muscular interior of the building.
Santo Spirito’s interior is lush and has a decorative overlay on the barrel vaulted ceiling while the exterior of the building acts as a contrast to that by being very simple and exhibiting an unfinished façade. While the original church’s exterior was made of stone, it was eventually plastered over and left unfinished. Unfinished exteriors are like that of many Florentine buildings of the time, which made the building fit in with Italian Renaissance style. While some aspects of the building fit in with that style, Santo Spirito stood out from others due to the beautiful culmination of his design

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