The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Florence is a well-known example of Italian Gothic architecture. On May 3, 1294, work began on what was once a modest church built by the Franciscans around the time of Saint Francis of Assisi's death in 1226. Arnolfo di Cambio, the master builder (what we would call an architect today), was tasked with constructing a new, grander church to rival Santa Maria Novella, which had been started by the Dominicans 50 years previously.

It was dedicated on January 6 of 1443 on the Florentine calendar, or 1444 on the Gregorian one.3 On December 20, 1933, it was elevated to the status of a minor basilica.

The Church of Santa Croce in Florence has long been a focal point for the city's most celebrated painters, thinkers, theologians, clergymen, and intellectuals as well as politicians. It's also been a haven for the influential families that helped shape Florence's character during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, through good times and bad. Among the many notable Christians who stayed at the monastery were Saint Bonaventure, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Bernardine of Siena, and Saint Louis of Anjou, Bishop of Toulouse. Several popes, including Sixtus IV, Eugene IV, Leo X, and Clement XIV, used it as a place of retreat and rest. This cathedral, with its magnificent Gothic architecture, frescoes, altarpieces, beautiful stained glass windows, and numerous sculptures, is one of the most significant examples of Florentine art from the 13th century onward.