15 - BASILICA E CONVENTO DI SS ANNUNZIATA

The mariana basilica of Florence is born on the ruins of the preesistente oratory of Saint Maria of the Servants founded to continuation of the conversion of seven noble ones after the vision of the Vergine. Later on, like sign of renunciation to the material world, they founded the monastero of Sinario Mount after that one of Fiesole. We are in year 1250, just 25 March. The year after the first church was complete for less in the main structures.

The legend narrates that the Servants of Saint Maria wanted to make to paint from a such painter of Bartolomeo name, l' frescoes of the Annunciation. The Bartolomeo was put of engagement but arrived to the face of the vergine it did not know to give them a profile. As a result of various tried to you, all not gone to good aim, the Bartolomeo came taken from the sconforto and during the jobs it came taken from one strange sleepiness. When it returned in if, the face of the Vergine was painted, miraculously, completed from an angel. Very soon divenne goal of pilgrims and venerazione from part of the Fiorentini. In the 1255 Common one of Florence it made to construct a road, via de' Servants exactly, that it joined Door of Bale with the Announced basilica of the Saintest one. The monaci to the continuation they bought the land in order to build up the public square to you.

One is believed that around to the 1280 church it had a rectangular plant, facade to hut turns to south and one small circular apse. Around to end de 1200 it came rifared the paving. The stalls of the "chorus" came carve from the Guglielmo master of Calabria Other Masters to you, that they worked in the Basilica in those times were: Datuccio from the Palace, Daldo and Calandrino. In the first half of the three hundred to some nails head and altars were added:: Saint Biagio, S. Anna, Saint Martino of the family Gain, Saint Michele Archangel, Santa Maria of the Purgatorio, Sant' Ansano and the SS. Announced. Towards the half of 1300 Neri and Giovanni Fioravante cruise widened the church constructing one and the nails head of S Donnino of the Falconieri. In 1384 between Andrea from Faenza, General father of the Servants of Maria, entrusted the direction of other important jobs to the architect Antonio Pucci.

18 October 1444 was placed the first stone of the tribune. Progettatore and director of the jobs was Michelozzo di Bartolommeo with to Pagno Portigiani, plan see again from the Alberti.  They came constructed and restored the sagrestia, the Villani nail head, the nail head of the Madonna, the chiostro of the Ballots, the Oratory of Saint Sebastiano and the left part of the navata one. The jobs lasted until 1453 and resumed in 1460 under the direction of Antonio Throttles. As a result of financial problems, the friars offered the patronage of the factory to Lodovico III Gonzaga, duca of Mantova and finally, in 1477, after light modifications to the previous plan of Leon Alberti Batiste, the tribune came completed.

 In the 1481 also navata one centers was finished they. The church was introduced with a roof supported from capriate, arches and cornices in serene stone. In the 1500's the jobs to the church endured a slowing down. However they were painted frescoes it of the chiostro of the ballots. 17 January 1516, the cardinal Antonio of the Mount, legacy of Lion X, consecrated solemn the church.
 

Towards the end of XVI the century, the Pucci family financed the construction of the external porch (sees coat of arms in the pavement that to sides of the porch). In 1601, always under financing of the Pucci, she came created the perron in front of the church in order to join together all to the same level the columns of the public square and to give homogeneity of together. In the 1664 Mattia de' Doctors son of Cosimo II said its aid to construct the ceiling of the church. The Volterrano was designed from Baldassarre said Franceschini that the Assumed Madonna painted you. The chorus was covered to the marble outside and serene stone and in the 1680 Volterrano began to fresco the cupola after, finishing it three years.

In the 1687 friars they decided to cover the inferior part of the church with marbles, putties and painted. Between the 1783 and 1795 church newly it was ripavimentata and in this occasion, many of it originates them tombali stones of the pavement went irrimediabilmente lost. In 1857 a last huge restoration to work of Giuseppe architect was effetuato Hills. The church was reopened to the public 20 August of the same year to the presence of Pope Pio IX that celebrated to the altar of the Madonna.

Curiosity
* On the skillful flank of the basilica a small arc is present that the colleague to the Palace of the Spreader, center of National the Archaeological Museum of Florence. This passage came constructed so that to prince Maria Maddalena de' Doctors, sister of granduca Cosimo II, delicate of not malforme health if, could o to putting without to come down in road: to the inside of the church golden grate is in fact present one, correspondent to a vain small to the term of the arc. The corridors suspended around the Palace are in all 5 and connect are the Spedale of the Innocents, are the buildings beyond Via Laura and of the Bower.
* In 2007, in the part the west of the convent, on a pianetrottolo of the scalone realized from Michelozzo it has been riscoperta one lunetta with an Annunciation attributed to Paul Uccello.