Cappella Brancacci
Cappella Brancacci
4.5
Speciality MuseumsReligious Sites
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
The church and convent of the Carmine in Florence were founded shortly after the middle of the thirteenth century, by a group of Carmelite monks from Pisa. In the church we find the Brancacci Chapel, a masterpiece known around the world for its frescoes of the Life of Saint Peter by Masaccio and Masolino. Created between 1425-1427, the frescoes were left incomplete and finished by Filippino Lippi between 1481 and 1482
Duration: < 1 hour
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: San Frediano
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles673 reviews
Excellent
461
Very good
102
Average
41
Poor
28
Terrible
41

carnage99
Melbourne245 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
Yes it is expensive and there is scaffold and it is a timed and cramped visit but the frescoes are amazing and you can see them up close. It is disappointing that the staff are unfriendly and don’t smile or help and look at you like you shouldn’t be there. This would be easy for them to change….
Written 27 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SachaHope
Sturminster Newton5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Friends
Very unhelpful and rude staff. Incomprehensible entry and ticketing. The chapel might be wonderful but entry was made an unpleasant experience
Written 1 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Geminican
San Jose, CA2,119 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Business
In Italy, there are countless precious artworks in all forms. They can be fragile or vulnerable to human breathe. The Last Supper by Da Vinci is an example. The fact that the Italians choose to share and open for visitation so that visitors like you and I should not be taken for granted. A lot of them may be undergoing renovation and restoration so they may be closed. They may also occasionally open new things to public that may surprise you in different ways. For this reason, personally I treat encounters with these objects or artworks as once in a lifetime opportunity. They are precious, but you don't know if you will be able to see them again and again due to various reasons.

When you have an opportunity to see precious artwork like this, sometimes requires more work, but it's worth it.
More work means either making reservations in advance or long wait time or fees or physical energy.
Because Italy has so many attractions that fall into "popular" category, planning ahead definitely helps, but also be aware of additional effort required to.

This one falls into this description.

More work in this case: Making advance reservations isn't easy for visitors less than 10 people, literally impossible. They also are not responsive to email inquiries. Their online reservation system is difficult. The online information can be confusing too. I made so many inquires including filling out its webform and still got me nowhere. That's the very reason I am giving it a 4 instead of a 5 out of 5.

Thankfully, there is a workaround. You must go there in person, ask them at the ticket counter. They will share with you their upcoming guided tour in Italian and English for the day. If they have space available, you can make reservations and obtain tickets on spot. More administrative work. If they don't have availability, they may be able to help you find tickets for future dates. Please work with the ticket office staff to sort it out. The entire team there are nice and helpful. Most speak good English.

To see this place, you must join a guided tour offered by them. There is no other ways to do it. The maximum group size is capped at 10-15 or so.
They do charge a fee.

Once you have gotten your ticket, then it's a smooth sailing towards the end.

They would give you an overview in a presentation room.
The frescos are in two levels. They thoughtfully built a scaffold so you could see these artworks at eye level, up close. The actual artwork is located on the 2nd and 3rd level. They give you 15 minutes on each level. Once 15 minutes is up, please respect their instruction and leave the current level to the other one. Once you are done seeing both levels, you are directed back to the ticket office area. That's the end of the tour.

There is no elevator, you must be able to climb stairs from the ground level up to three story high, if you can't, please do not sign up.

I personally suggest and recommend that you wear a mask to reduce human breath damaging artwork. But this is not mandatory when I was there.

This place is worth visiting. Highly recommend.

Good luck with making advanced reservations and getting tickets.
Written 18 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David Spiel
NYC190 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Solo
If you are in Florence before the end of the year you can see one of the most imortant fresco cycles in the history of art-- Up Close!!! A rennovantion of The Brancacci Chapel affords you to climb the scaffolding and see this at eye level. Frescoed by Masolino and Masaccio in 1425, it is a masterpiece of renaissance art. It is the second atom bom in art history. You have got to make a reservation for a 30 minute session. To see a film of this wonder, visit my YouTube channel: "Art and Travel by Dave."
Written 28 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Penny M
12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
Arranging tickets took some effort as they had a separate system to the usual museum site plus visits are currently limited to 10 people due to scaffolding and restoration works. But a little gem of frescoes and to see them up close was just magical. Tickets are combined with Fondazione Salvatore Romano which is also worth visiting.
Written 3 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ellen W
Philadelphia, PA178 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Solo
I am so lucky to have been able to visit the Capella Brancacci twice in my lifetime. It’s one of my favorite Early Renaissance fresco programs. The first time I went, in 2016, you could just pay your admission (necessary to pay for maintenance of this priceless gem) and walk right in. Now, in 2023, the entire chapel is undergoing a major preservation project and you have to be escorted by a guard. Furthermore, you cannot stand back and take in the entire chapel or see the individual sections unobstructed. Instead, you have to climb stairs up onto the scaffolding that the restoration team is using for its work. The advantage of this is that you are standing at eye level with Masaccio’s, Masolino’s, and Filippino Lippi’s figures. You can see details that would never be discernible from floor level, including the individual sections of plaster that comprised their day-work. If you are an art lover, and particularly a quatrocento afficionado, do not miss this.
Written 19 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ben F
Auckland Central, New Zealand16 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023 • Solo
There are multiple different opening times online which is incredibly confusing. The signage on the building states it is open 10am-5pm Friday, Saturday and Monday and 1pm-5pm on Sunday. Nonetheless when I tried to visit (multiple times) within that, it remained resolutely closed.
Written 7 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Matthijs
The Hague, The Netherlands37 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022 • Solo
The frescoes are being restored and there is scaffolding everywhere. I wouldn’t recommend visiting the Cappella before the works are finished. Right now it’s an absolute waste of money. You still have to pay the full amount (which already is way too high compared to other sights) and the staff (extremely rude btw) won’t inform you about the scaffolding…
Written 26 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

top-trippers
Bolton, UK641 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
This was one of my personal favourites whilst in Florence. You can only see as part of a pre-booked accompanied visit (10 people max). You need to arrive in good time as they shut the door promptly. Whilst you can only stay for 25 minutes, this is enough time to see Masaccio and Masolino’s famous fresco cycle and take a quick peek inside the main church. At the moment the chapel is full of three levels of scaffolding accessed via steps. Whilst this is not great if you want to take lots of photos, it does give you a really close-up view of the frescoes. There are no information cards or audio-guide and your ‘minder’ won’t offer up any background. For me, on-line booking was a nightmare and I almost gave up. Opening times seem to change regularly and the changes are not advertised in advance. Online tickets go on sale on the 18th of the previous month (e.g. tickets for July are available from 18th June). When checking availability, if the calendar search doesn’t work, circumvent by over-keying the dates manually. A ‘no availability’ response can be misleading – tickets may have sold out, but it could also mean that reservations haven’t been released yet. It could also indicate that the chapel is closed on the dates in question. Persevere - it is worth it! If you speak Italian – book by telephone.

The 12 restored Branacci Chapel frescoes (two featuring Adam and Eve, the other ten showing scenes from the life of St. Peter) are said to mark the start of Renaissance painting and were a major influence on the likes of the younger Michelangelo and Botticelli. Masolini designed and began the frescoes around 1424, assisted by his 21-year pupil Masaccio, who later took charge of the project. Work stalled for a while – partly because Masaccio was called to work in Rome (where he died aged just 27), and also because the sponsors were expelled from Florence by the Medici. The Branacci later returned and the painting was completed by Filippino Lippi as his first major work. The original ceiling frescoes, along with the lunettes which once contained four more scenes by Masolini, were lost after being painted over during a redecoration of the church in the 18th century. The cycle contains various Renaissance innovations in painting (the use of perspective; composite scenes; and the restaging of historical events in a familiar landscape).

Masolino’s composite St. Peter Healing a Cripple and the Raising of Tabitha Is thought to be the first use of a central vanishing point in painting. His style was still heavily Gothic – the figures in his Temptation of Adam and Eve are elegant, pale, and delicate and the snake is stylised with a human face and thick blond hair. This contrasts with Masaccio’s Expulsion of Adam and Eve with its more solid and vivid colours, bold strokes and gradual lightening of tones to create the impression of ‘light and shade’ and perspective. Like Giotto before him, Masaccio sought to introduce realism by depicting humans as individuals with different stances and expressions (often dramatically emotional) - his Adam and Eve seem hunched in shame and anguish. Realism is enhanced by lots of added minor details, particularly evident in his Baptism of the Neophytes - the muscles, dripping hair, and the water swirling round the knees. His Tribute Money is another standout. Here, Lippo deliberately adopted Masaccio’s style but he added his trademark contemporary portraits amongst the bystanders - in his composite Disputation with Simon Magus and Crucifixion of St Peter, you can see Lippi himself (the youth with a beret on the extreme left), as well as his friend and teacher Sandro Botticelli (the young man below the archway looking towards the viewer).
Written 18 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SeanExpat12
Paris7 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Friends
Completely rude chaperone (not a guide because no information was provided) and very unimpressive frescoes. Waste of time and offensive (they don’t like Americans). Really bad taste of Florence here.
Written 14 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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