Great Discoveries audio tour of Santa Maria Novella provides today’s tourists with the most entertaining and informative way to visit Florence’s third most important church after the Duomo and Santa Croce. Construction started on the sumptuous new headquarters of the powerful Dominican Order in 1278 and was not completed until 1360, almost one hundred years later. Its name Novella (new) stems from the fact that it was built on the site of an earlier church Santa Maria delle Vigne. The basilica’s interior is truly magnificent, with arches in two colors leading gracefully toward the high altar. It is vast, lofty, illuminated by ample sunlight and more Gothic in feel than any other church in Florence. Treasures aplenty fill the interior, a groundbreaking painting by Masaccio, a crucifix by Giotto and three major fresco cycles. This carefully researched tour guides you through the Basilica, while our professional narrator points out and describes the most significant works of art and other historic treasures.