About This Location
The Church of Saints Michele and Gaetano, often called San Gaetano, is one of the most surprising churches in central Florence. It sits on Piazza Antinori, right on the edge of Via de’ Tornabuoni, and its bold Baroque style stands out in a city better known for Renaissance calm. This site once held an older church dedicated to Saint Michael. In 1592 it was entrusted to the Theatine order, and the current building phase ran from 1604 to 1648, with designs that involved Bernardo Buontalenti and later major work by architects including Matteo Nigetti and Gherardo Silvani. Medici support mattered here, and the name of Cardinal Carlo de’ Medici appears on the façade. Take a moment with the façade. Unlike many Florentine church fronts, it is full of sculpture and movement, almost like a stage set. Over the main doorway, the reclining figures of Faith and Charity are part of the visual “welcome,” and the coats of arms above point to the patrons behind the project. Inside, the atmosphere is rich and dramatic, with the kind of decoration expected in a Counter-Reformation Baroque church. One standout artwork is Pietro da Cortona’s Martyrdom of St Lawrence, a bold painting that fits the church’s theatrical mood. Standing outside again, the nearby scene is very different in tone: polished streets, historic palazzi, and shop windows along Via de’ Tornabuoni. Just across the small piazza is Palazzo Antinori, and the area feels like a bridge between Florence’s old power families and the city’s modern “walk-and-shop” rhythm.