Basilica of Santa Croce

The Franciscans began this in 1294 and it became the pantheon of Tuscany: Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini and Ghiberti are buried here, and Dante has a monument although he is buried in Ravenna, which refuses to return him. Galileo was denied a church burial when he died in 1642 and only moved into the nave in 1737. The Bardi and Peruzzi chapels hold Giotto fresco cycles that were whitewashed in the eighteenth century and clumsily uncovered in the nineteenth, then re-restored. Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel stands in the cloister. The 1966 flood reached about five metres inside the church.

What you actually see

• The tombs - Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and Rossini in one nave.
• The Giotto chapels - Bardi and Peruzzi cycles recovered from whitewash.
• The Pazzi Chapel - Brunelleschi's small domed chapel in the cloister.
• The flood marks - the 1966 water level recorded inside.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the basilica closes to visitors during services and on Sunday mornings. Dress code covers shoulders and knees.

Honest expectations

The Giotto frescoes are damaged from the whitewashing and restoration history. It is busy and ticketed. Sunday morning access is limited to worship.

Nearby

The Duomo lies west; the Bargello is between them.