View of the interior

In the thirteenth century, the Dominicans and the Franciscans became major rivals in Florence, expressed in their position on opposite ends of the city. The Franciscan church of Santa Croce was begun on the eastern side of the city in 1294, the Dominicans built their church of Santa Maria Novella in the western part. Both churches are cavernous enlargements of earlier monastic structures on their sites, reflecting the size of the congregations who came to hear the preaching for which both orders were renowned. In spite of their size, both churches are relatively restrained in their decoration. Both churches are laid out in modified cruciform plan, with a shallow apse.

The plan of Santa Croce is modified Burgundian-Cistercian, with ten chapels flanking the choir and a five-sided apse. A major factor in the design is the open-trussed wooden roof that runs, unbroken, down the nave to the entrance wall of the choir. The unelaborated lancet windows project an image of austerity, albeit on a monumental scale.

View the ground plan of Santa Croce, Florence.