Built in Gothic style and later given a Mannerist facade, this 14th-century church shelters some of the city's finest frescoes: Lorenzo Monaco's Annunciation (1422) in Cappella Bartholini Salimbeni and eye-catching frescoes by Ghirlandaio depicting the life of St Francis of Assisi in Cappella Sassetti , right of the altar. The frescoes were painted between 1483 and 1485 and feature portraits of illustrious Florentines of the time; pop a €0.50 coin in the slot to illuminate the frescoes for two minutes.
Look out for the crest of the Bartholini Salimbeni family on the floor of the chapel – it features poppies and the motto 'Per Non Dormire' (For Those Who Don't Sleep), a reference to the fact that the family fortune resulted from the acquisition of an important cargo of wool from Northern Europe, a deal sealed unbeknown to their business rivals, who had been doped with opium-laced wine at a lavish party the night before the cargo was due to arrive in Florence.
