The church of Santa Maria del Carmine and the Brancacci Chapel
The church of Santa Maria del Carmine is located in piazza del Carmine, which you can reach from the Duomo (cathedral) by taking via Roma and the streets that follow it, via Calimala and via Por Santa Maria. Cross the Ponte Vecchio to reach Piazza de' Pitti, which you will cross. Turn right into Via Mazzetta until you reach Piazza Santo Spirito and then continue along Via Sant'Agostino and Santa Monaca which leads to Piazza del Carmine. Address: Piazza del Carmine Opening hours: every day from 10 am to 5 pm, Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm. Closed on Tuesdays. Price : 6 €. Access to the chapel is limited to 30 people every 15 minutes. The exterior façade, as is often the case in Florence, was never finished.
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The interior dates mainly from the 18th century and has a Latin cross plan with a single nave bordered by chapels and a transept crowned by a dome. A fire in 1771 almost completely destroyed the interior decoration. The current vault is decorated in trompe l'oeil. The Corsini Chapel was built in 1675 in honor of Saint Andrea Corsini who had just been canonized. The altarpiece and the baroque ceiling miraculously escaped the fire.
There is also a beautiful 17th century cloister.
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Brancacci Chapel
Entrance to the right of the church through the 17th century cloister to the ticket office.
In 1424 Felice Brancacci commissioned Masolino da Panicale to decorate his chapel. He was assisted by Tommaso di Ser Giovanni - known as Masaccio. After Masolino's departure for Hungary, he continued the work alone, but during a trip to Rome he died at the age of 28. 50 years later, Filippino Lippi finally finished the work, but with such a mimicry that his participation was not recognized until the 19th century. The most famous image of this fresco cycle is the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Masaccio deviates from Renaissance classicism and shows us an Eve - mouth wide open - eyes revolted - screaming her despair. Adam, overwhelmed, unable to believe what is happening to him, hides his eyes behind his hands.
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The other panels, separate or common works, deal with the life of Saint Peter.
Filippino Lippi alone painted the crucifixion of St. Peter and his release from prison by an angel. All the panels recount several events related to the same subject, while remaining extremely legible.
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