Schools

Santa Croce offers a host of ideas for instructive tours for schools ranging from kindergarten to sixth form. Thanks to Santa Croce's vast cultural heritage imbued with secular and religious values alike, teachers can explore "in the field" the art, history, literature and citizenship themes that they have discussed in the classroom.

Portal for schools

Visit the "portal for schools" in our on-line ticket office to book your tour and to access payment methods reserved for educational tours.

Educational tours

Dedicated educational itineraries are available for schools.
The events are designed for classes of at least 15 students, but no more than 35. The itineraries are only partly accessible to students with impaired movement due to the presence of steps at the entrance to the chapels visited. Teachers should inform us ahead of time if any students with impaired movement are going to be present on the tour so that we can inform them how to access the complex in good time.

Santa Croce's Masterpieces

This tour introduces students to the history of the monumental complex of Santa Croce and the most important works of art it houses. The tour lasts 70 minutes and is available in Italian and in English.

Themed tours and workshops

Students can discover Santa Croce thanks to special themed tours and educational workshops specially designed for schools.

Language: Italian
Duration: 70 minutes
Times: Monday to Saturday, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm; 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

  • Giotto. painter in Santa Croce and businessman in Florence
    Target audience: Primary and both lower and upper secondary school

    Giotto's life and career form the basis for our exploration of  the birth of Santa Croce and the relationship between St. Francis's message and the church's wealthy patrons, the history of the Order of Friars Minor and the history of Florence.
    During the guided tour, students learn about the historical context in which the artist worked, highlighting the social structure, dynamic economy and cultural environment of Florence in the 13th and 14th centuries. We also look at works expressly commissioned for Santa Croce and at people's approach to the church in the Middle Ages We focus in particular on the role of the artist, the structure of workshops and Giotto's entrepreneurial side.
    The language, the examples chosen and the detail of the content explored are tailored to the cognitive and learning capabilities of each individual age group.


  • Alfieri, Dante, Galilei, Machiavelli and Michelangelo. The "temple" of Santa Croce according to Foscolo
    Target audience: Primary and both lower and upper secondary school

    Taking our cue from Ugo Foscolo's poem "Dei Sepolcri", we illustrate the monuments to the great and good in Santa Croce, explaining the figurative language with which the illustrious figures' lives were translated into symbols and allegories, and analysing the ways in which each figure's distinctive features were chosen according to the historical context of the moment. The ultimate purpose of this interactive tour is to explore the concepts of public memory and role models. Teachers may choose to delve deeper into one or other of the figures whose monuments we explore.

Distance learning

In view of the difficult moment we are living through, the Opera di Santa Croce has decided to produce a small guide entitled "Draw My Name. The language of heraldry" and to make it available to teachers and parents free of charge.

Inspired by our educational workshop, the booklet allows children to take their cue from the world of heraldry to explore the history of Florence and of Santa Croce. The ultimate purpose of the booklet is to impart the main points of the language of heraldry in a fun way by urging children to design their very own coat-of-arms with the help of a teacher or parent, reflecting on the way crests, and thus by extension also today's logos, were and are created.

The Keys of the City

The Opera di Santa Croce subscribes to "The Keys of the City", a project devised by the Comune di Firenze to promote the offer of complementary educational and training pathways designed to supplement the standard curriculum for Florentine schools.