Chiesa di Santa Felicita

Lonely Planet review

The most captivating thing about the façade of this 18th-century remake of what had been Florence's oldest (4th-century) church is the fact that the Corridoio Vasariano passes right across it. The Medici could drop by and hear Mass without being seen!

Inside, the main interest is in the small Cappella Barbadori, designed by Brunelleschi, immediately on the right as you enter. Here Pontormo left his disquieting mark with a fresco of the Annunciazione (Annunciation) and a Deposizione (Deposition). The latter depicts the taking down of Christ from the cross in disturbingly surreal colours. The people engaged in this operation look almost as if they have been given a fright by the prying eyes of the onlooker. The good thing about coming into a 'minor' church like this is that you'll probably find it empty, with one or two seniors perhaps muttering a few prayers in the silence. Shame it's not like that all over town!