Museo di Santa Maria Nuova

About the museum

The Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova was founded in 1288 on land donated by Folco Portinari, father of Beatrice, and is considered the oldest hospital in the world still in operation. Over seven centuries the complex expanded around several cloisters, housing wards, churches, pharmacies and archives.

The museum route, run by the Fondazione Santa Maria Nuova, passes through ten stops: the façade with the loggia, the entrance, the small room of the Crucifixes, the Chiostro delle Medicherie, the Chiostro delle Ossa, the matroneum of the church of Sant’Egidio, the Stanze degli Avi, the church of Sant’Egidio, the Allori chapel and the bookshop. The Chiostro delle Ossa, a small arcaded courtyard that served as a burial ground from the founding, was transformed in 1873 into a “Pantheon della memoria” with the mausoleum of Count Angiolo Orlando Galli Tassi. His bequest allowed the institution to buy the convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Ospedale degli Innocenti in the 19th century.

The hospital holds over 700 works of art, including paintings, frescoes, sculptures and furnishings; among the artists associated with the site, Leonardo da Vinci is remembered. The complex includes a chapel designed by Buontalenti and frescoed by Allori.

Highlights

• Chiostro delle Medicherie and Chiostro delle Ossa
• Church of Sant’Egidio with the matroneum
• Chapel designed by Buontalenti and frescoed by Allori
• Over 700 works of art, including paintings, frescoes and sculptures
• Guided visit of about an hour and a half through seven centuries of care

Permanent exhibition

• Percorso museale dell'Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova – Ten stops through the façade, the cloisters, the church of Sant’Egidio, the Stanze degli Avi and the Allori chapel, telling seven centuries of the hospital’s history.

Founded

1288

Operated by

Fondazione Santa Maria Nuova ETS

Visitors per year

approx. 3,000

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

A tourism portal lists the route as accessible; no detailed accessibility information is published on the foundation’s website.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The entrance is on Piazza Santa Maria Nuova, in the historic centre of Florence.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop at the end of the route.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit