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Piazza Santa Croce
Piazza Santa Croce is located near piazza della Signoria and the National Central Library, and takes its name from the Basilica of Santa Croce that overlooks the square.
Basilica of Santa Croce
The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Niccolò Machiavelli, Enrico Fermi, Galileo Galilei, Ugo Foscolo, Guglielmo Marconi, Luigi Cherubini, Leon Battista Alberti, Vittorio Alfieri, Gioacchino Rossini, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Lorenzo Bartolini, Pier Antonio Micheli, Bartolomeo Cristofori, Giovanni Gentile, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).
Palazzo Cocchi-Serristori.
On the opposite side to the Basilica of Santa Croce is the Palazzo Cocchi-Serristori, rebuilt in the late 15th century by Giuliano da Sangallo, personal architect of Lorenzo de' Medici. Today it houses the headquarters of the Quarter 1 of Florence.
Palazzo dell'Antella
On the southern side of the square is the Palazzo dell'Antella, a long palace with facade decorated in the early 17th century under the direction of Giovanni da San Giovanni.
Sculptures
In front of the Basilica of Santa Croce is located a marble statue made by Enrico Pazzi dedicated to Dante, and in the front of the Palazzo Cocchi-Serristori there is a fountain of 19th century.
Events
Every year in June, a field of sand is prepared in piazza Santa Croce for the annual Calcio Fiorentino (historic football) games. The game is fairly violent; boxing and wrestling is allowed and minor injuries are frequent.
In 2006 Roberto Benigni recited the Dante's Divine Comedy beside the statue dedicated to him in piazza Santa Croce."
//Wikipedia