Tomb of Agostino Sanctucio in the floor of the Basilica Di Santa Croce Florence Italy
Santa Croce's floor with its earthenware tiles still hosts roughly two hundred and fifty graves, an astonishing legacy of history, faith and art. Cemeteries as we know them today did not exist in the Middle Ages, so in order to meet the need of the faithful to be buried in consecrated ground, their bodies were laid in free spaces within churches and convents, where only a few could afford a gravestone to perpetuate their memory. The graves in Santa Croce were initially reserved for Franciscan friars who had held important offices in the Order and for laymen who had devoted their lives to the service of the city. Later on, however, an increasing number of members of the neighbourhood's wealthy and powerful families whose donations had made it possible to build and decorate the complex also came to be buried tomb slabs conjugate a desire to mark their place of burial with the wish to appear humble in keeping with the ideals of the mendicant orders, which is why they deliberately allowed their graves to be trodden on and at the same time sought to symbolise the return to the earth that is the fate of all men. The graves can be iconic (in other words with a figure of the deceased in virtually life-size bas-relief on it, generally facing the altar) or aniconic and adorned only with ornamental motifs and coats-of-arms. Chiusini , or manhole covers, were the simplest form of grave, consisting of a relatively small and often unadorned slab that could be opened to permit access to the burial below.
Size: 4067px × 6100px
Location: Florence Italy
Photo credit: © Neil Setchfield / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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