SANTA MARIA NOVELLA, Interior

Now go back to the Green Cloister in order to take the staircase that leads you to the left nave of the church.

I suggest first going to the "proper" entrance of the church to look at it as if you had entered from the main portal. Only then can you admire all the elegance of this light, bright structure, with its wide Gothic arches supported by spaced pillars. There aren't any chapels along the naves; there are many of them, which are quite rich in works of art, but they are all located at the back of the church.

A famous fresco is on the left wall: the Trinity painted by Masaccio in the first half of the 1400s. It is the painter's last known work, as he died at the very young age of 26. It is considered one of the most important works of the Renaissance for its perfect synthesis of painting, sculpture, and architecture. The figures are arranged so as to simulate a progressive depth.

Another masterpiece is in a dominant position at the center of the Church: the great Crucifix painted by a very young Giotto, around 20 years old, at the end of the 1200s: this is one of the earliest depictions of Christ on the cross in a "natural" position....