Santa Croce, Church of (Real)

Santa Croce, Church of (Real),The church in Florence in which Romola de' Bardi and Tito Melema are betrothed and in which later Bardo de' Bardi is buried. The Franciscan, Fra Francesco di Puglia, preaches his sermons against Savonarola in Santa Croce. "The long dark mass of Santa Croce, where we buried our famous dead, laying the laurel on their cold brows, and fanning them with the breath of praise and of banners. But Santa Croce had no spire then." The Church of Santa Croce, on the Piazza di Santa Croce, begun in 1294, completed in 1442, was built for the Franciscans in the form of a Latin cross. The facade is a nineteenth century addition. The number of famous dead buried there made it the Pantheon of Florence.

<em>Romola</em>

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