Basilica di Santo Spirito Guide: Free Entry, the Crucifix Route & Hours

The Basilica di Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno district south of the Arno, is one of Filippo Brunelleschi's two great Florentine basilica designs (alongside San Lorenzo). The basilica nave is free to enter for everyone, confirmed directly on the official site: 'Ingresso libero e gratuito.'

A separate paid route, the 'Percorso Museale Agostiniano' (Augustinian Museum Route), costs a flat €2.00 per person and is required to see Michelangelo's wooden crucifix along with the Vestibule and Sacristy, the Cloister of the Dead, the Chapter Room, and the frescoed Refectory — these specific spaces are NOT part of the free basilica visit.

Open Monday-Saturday (except Wednesday) 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-18:00; Sundays and religious holidays 11:30-13:30 and 15:00-18:00. Closed to tourist visits on Wednesdays, though it remains open for religious services.

Construction began in 1444 to a design by Filippo Brunelleschi, continuing after his death until the late 15th century — considered by many architectural historians to be an even purer expression of his proportional system than San Lorenzo, since it was built with fewer later compromises to his original plan.

The Sacristy houses a wooden crucifix attributed to a young Michelangelo, created around 1493 in gratitude to the prior who had allowed him to study human anatomy using bodies from the attached hospital — a formative influence on his later sculptural work.