Santa Maria Novella is one of Florence's principal churches, its geometric green-and-white marble facade among the most recognisable in the city — and the reason Florence's main train station is called Santa Maria Novella rather than something more generic. The church itself predates the station by roughly 600 years.

Inside

The highlight for most visitors is Masaccio's Holy Trinity fresco, a landmark work often credited as the first painting to use mathematically correct linear perspective — a genuine turning point in Western art, painted around 1427. The church also holds a Giotto crucifix and a set of frescoed chapels behind the main altar.

The attached pharmacy

Next door, the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world, founded by Dominican friars in the 13th century and still selling perfumes, soaps and herbal preparations from recipes with centuries of history — a genuinely unusual stop, free to browse, and unlike anything else in the city.

Practical notes

Because it sits right by the station, Santa Maria Novella is an easy first or last stop on a Florence visit — worth 30–45 minutes, more if the pharmacy draws you in. It's ticketed separately from the Duomo complex.

Good to know: if you're arriving by train, this is the first major sight you'll pass — worth a look even with luggage in tow, since it's steps from the station exit.