The church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini was commissioned by Pope Leo X (r. 1513-21), a member of the famous Medici family, for the Florentine community in Rome.
The main construction of the church was carried out between 1583-1602 by Giacomo della Porta (1532-1602) and continued by Carlo Maderno (1556-1629), who designed the dome. Maderno is buried in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini.
The church had to wait more than a century for a façade, which is based on a design by the Florentine architect Alessandro Galilei (1691-1737). Completed in 1733, the façade is emblazoned with an inscription to Pope Clement XII (r. 1730-40), who was a member of another Florentine family, the Corsini. The main entrance is surmounted by Clement XII's coat of arms.
My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
small-group walking tours
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