Pazzi Chapel

Coordinates: 43°46′4.82″N 11°15′46.76″E / 43.7680056°N 11.2629889°E / 43.7680056; 11.2629889

The Pazzi Chapel (Italian: Cappella dei Pazzi) by Filippo Brunelleschi is a religious building in Florence, central Italy, considered to be one of the masterpieces of Renaissance architecture. It is located in the "first cloister" of the Basilica di Santa Croce.

History

Though funds for the chapel were assembled in 1429 by Andrea Pazzi, head of the Pazzi family, whose wealth was second only to the Medici, construction did not begin until about 1441. The chapel was completed in the 1460s, almost two decades after the death of the architect himself. The building is considered to be an Early Renaissance masterpiece.

The main purpose of the building was as the cathedral chapter house (meeting room for the governing chapter) and use as a classroom for the teaching of monks and other religious purposes. There was also a chapel behind the altar where the commissioning family had the right to bury its dead. The Pazzi's ulterior motive in building the chapel was probably to make their mark on the city of Florence and to emphasize their wealth and power. The fact that the city was at war with a neighboring city at the time and still acquired the funds to build this chapel showed the importance it had to the Pazzi family and the people of Florence.