Basilica of Santa Croce and its neighbourhood: Private Walking Tour

In Florence in the early 13th century,  a group of Franciscan monks set up just outside the city fortifications. They were devoted to defending the faith through preaching, as well as helping the poor living outside the city walls. Their presence correlated with major socioeconomic shifts that occurred in Florence during the 13th and early 14th centuries. Meanwhile, Florence's most influential banking families began contributing to the construction and decoration of the chapels for a new course in Italian and European painting. The Franciscan Basilica of Santa Croce, a memoir of the Franciscan spirit, a Pantheon of Italian Glories,  and a must-see during the Grand Tour, is situated on the East side of the city. Its construction began in c. 1295 by Florence's archistar Arnolfo di Cambio and is one of the architecturally most important gothic churches in Florence, with works of art from the 14th to the 19th century.