Santa Croce

•Gothic church commissioned by the Franciscan mendicant order

• Likely designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, a famous sculptor and architect as well as pupil/co-worker of Nicola Pisano

•Started in 1294

•Large open spaces to accommodate to standing crowds who came to hear preachers

•“Santa Croce’s loftiness and the openness of its arches make it seem almost endless” (Hartt 68)

•Built at the edge of the city proper because of the grand scale

• incorporated church as well as accommodations for resident priests and nuns

•The wall surfaces were intended for painting

•Giotto and his followers began painted frescos on the walls of some of the transept chapels while the nave was still being built

•Painted decoration on ceiling beams

•Structure:

•Timber-roofed nave and vaulted polygonal apse separated by a triumphal arch reflecting those of Early Christian basilicas in Rome but incorporating pointed arches and windows

•Octagonal Columns

•Catwalk supported by corbels

-Allie