The church was founded by the Vallombrosians in the 11th century (when it was outside the city walls), and subsequently patronized by many of Florence's wealthiest families. Even though the modern
Italian word for "trinity" is
trinità, with an accent indicating stress on the last vowel, the old
Florentine pronunciation used to put the stress on the first vowel, and the name is therefore written without an accent; sometimes, it is accented as
trìnita to indicate the unusual pronunciation. Santa Trinita was originally built as a simple
Romanesque style, named the Church of Santa Maria dello Spasimo. It was built on the site of an earlier Carolingian oratory. Some traces are still visible on the counter-facade. The current church was constructed in 1258–1280 at the site of a pre-existing 11th-century church. It was raised to the rank of minor basilica in the 13th century. Santa Trinita is both a parish church and the monastic church of the Vallombrosan monastery of the same name. Multiple reconstructions occurred over the centuries. The
Mannerist façade (1593–1594) was designed by
Bernardo Buontalenti. The bas-relief over the central door of the trinity was sculpted by
Pietro Bernini and
Giovanni Battista Caccini. The 17th-century wooden doors have carved panels depicting Saints of the Vallumbrosan order. The
Column of Justice (
Colonna di Giustizia) in the piazza outside, originates from the
Baths of Caracalla in Rome, and was a gift to
Cosimo I de' Medici by
Pope Pius IV. It was erected in 1565 to commemorate the
Battle of Montemurlo in which Florence defeated
Siena. The
Santa Trinita Maestà by
Cimabue was once at the high altar of the church, and was later moved to a side chapel. It is now exhibited at the
Uffizi. The former Strozzi Chapel is now the sacristy. ==Chapels==