If you have a day, an hour in Firenze, and you want to embibe its essence and its
grandeur all in one, go to the church of
Santa Croce. If you have more time on your hands, allocate at least a full morning to it, not so much to see it but to feel its awesome presence descend on you.
Santa Croce is, first and foremost, the holiest place I have ever visited. It breathes an air of respect for the past, joyful expectation of the future, love of art and interest in science. A simple, basically unadorned building, as would be expected from Franciscan brothers, it is a stark shell which only helps bring to the fore the awesome repository of history and art that lies whithin. The care and attention given to the collection of treasures within the chruch by generation of studious monks seem to coat the flagstones with a patina of reverence.
The world famous frescos of the death of St. Francis by Giotto completely defy description. I had seen literally dozens of photographs of them, had had it explained to me that they mark the birth of Rennaissance imagery. But nothing could have prepared me for the emotional impact of the chubby, brown clad, unpreposessing two dimentional monks crying for the loss of their spiritual leader. The only way I can describe it is that standing there, craning your neck to get a good view in the bad light, from an uncomfortable angle, you want to cry with them. Giottos achievement was not that of perspective or composition, but that of capturing pure emotion in plaster.
Apart from being a repository of great art, Santa Croce is also a capsule of the political, scientific and artisitc history of Florence. Michaelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli - they are all buried there. The feeling of being surrounded by so much hovering greatness is humbling and empowering, the almost physical presence of the past masters inspiring one to atempt feats of intellectual heroism oneself.
Firenze is a wonderful city, full of things to discover and enjoy for all - from the art lover to the sybarite. But if I had to tell you to go just one place and learn Florence, it would not be the Duomo or the Academia. It would be this relatively modest and secluded church of the Franciscan bretheren.