# Brancacci Chapel, Florence > The Brancacci Chapel is a small chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, south of the Arno, where Masaccio and Masolino painted the frescoes that launched Renaissance painting. It holds the famous Expulsion from the Garden of Eden and scenes from the life of St Peter that the young Michelangelo copied like a textbook. Entry is paid and booked in small groups; allow about 30 minutes. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/brancacci-chapel - City: [Florence](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence), Italy - YesGo score: 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 30 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Paid, timed booking - Opening hours: By day, not every day - Highlights: Expulsion from Eden, Tribute Money - Artists: Masaccio, Masolino, Filippino Lippi - Time needed: About 30 minutes - Location: Oltrarno, Piazza del Carmine - Coordinates: 43.76845, 11.24403 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **c. 1424–1427** — Masolino and Masaccio painted the chapel (source: English Wikipedia) - **1480s** — Filippino Lippi completed the cycle (source: English Wikipedia) - **1771** — the chapel survived a fire in the church (source: English Wikipedia) - **1980s** — restoration brought back the bright colours (source: English Wikipedia) - **Michelangelo** — copied Masaccio's figures here as a youth (source: English Wikipedia) ## History of the Brancacci Chapel The chapel in the Carmelite church of **Santa Maria del Carmine** was commissioned by the wealthy merchant and diplomat **Felice Brancacci**. Around **1424** two painters began work: the experienced **Masolino** and his young colleague **Masaccio**, barely into his twenties. The subject was the life of St Peter. A few years later work stopped: Masolino left, Masaccio went to Rome, and Brancacci himself soon fell out with the Medici and was banished from the city. The chapel stood unfinished for more than half a century until **Filippino Lippi**, son of the painter Filippo Lippi, completed it in the **1480s**, so carefully that his parts aren't easy to tell from his predecessors'. In **1771** a fire badly damaged the Carmine church, but the chapel survived. The frescoes were darkened by soot, and only a major restoration in the **1980s** revealed their true bright colours. Today it's one of the most important monuments of early Renaissance painting, sometimes called the Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance. ## Masaccio's frescoes: why they matter Before Masaccio, figures in frescoes looked flat and weightless. He was the first to paint people as solid and heavy, with shadows cast from a single light source, as if light were falling from the chapel's real window. His figures stand firmly on the ground, and the landscape and buildings recede according to the rules of perspective. The most famous scene is the **Expulsion from the Garden of Eden**: Adam covers his face with his hands, Eve cries out in grief, and there's more raw feeling in them than Italian painting had ever shown. Next to it is the **Tribute Money**, with the apostles standing in a semicircle around Christ while Peter, in three episodes within one picture, finds a coin in a fish and pays the tax collector. Later generations of artists came here to learn. Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli and then **Michelangelo** all copied Masaccio's figures; the young Michelangelo's drawings show how closely he studied them. ## What to see in the Brancacci Chapel - **Expulsion from the Garden of Eden** — Masaccio, on the left entrance pier. - **The Tribute Money** — the large upper scene on the left. - **The Temptation of Adam and Eve** — Masolino, facing the Expulsion. - **St Peter Healing with His Shadow** — Masaccio, by the altar. - **Filippino Lippi's scenes** — the lower tier. - **Madonna del Popolo** — the old icon on the altar. > **Book ahead** Visitors go in small groups for a set time, so book in advance on the Florence civic museums website. The entrance isn't the main church door but the former convent to its right. Restoration work with scaffolding happens from time to time, and visitors are sometimes taken up onto the scaffold, right next to the frescoes. ## The Oltrarno and the Carmine church The chapel is in the **Oltrarno**, the district beyond the Arno on the south bank. It's a neighbourhood of artisans, workshops, small trattorias and quiet squares, with far fewer tourists than around the cathedral. The **church of Santa Maria del Carmine** is plain outside, with an unfinished front, and bright inside, redecorated in 18th-century Baroque after the fire. Nearby, look into the basilica of [Santo Spirito](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santo-spirito), Brunelleschi's last church, whose square fills with locals in the evening. [Palazzo Pitti](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-pitti) and the Boboli Gardens are also close, so the chapel slots easily into a day on the south bank. ## How to get to the Brancacci Chapel 1. From the [Ponte Vecchio](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/ponte-vecchio), 12 minutes on foot through the Oltrarno. 2. From **Santa Maria Novella** station, 15 minutes via the Ponte alla Carraia. 3. From Palazzo Pitti, 10 minutes. 4. The entrance is to the right of the church front on Piazza del Carmine. ## Tips for your visit The chapel is small and the frescoes run in two tiers, so take time over the upper scenes, where Masaccio's key works are. A short film on the history of the paintings is usually shown before you go in; it helps you see who painted which part. Photos without flash are usually allowed. Mornings are best, followed by lunch in an Oltrarno trattoria. Children won't know much about Masaccio, but they tend to like the scene where Peter finds a coin in a fish's mouth, so tell them the story before you go in. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Book a time slot on the civic museums site - [ ] Find the entrance to the right of the church - [ ] Look at the Expulsion by the chapel entrance - [ ] Spot the three episodes in the Tribute Money - [ ] Walk on to Piazza Santo Spirito ## Florence's churches: compare and choose Churches and basilicas in Florence rated by YesGo. - [Florence Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/florence-cathedral) — YesGo score 60/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Free; dome paid - [Santa Croce](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-croce) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · Paid - [Santa Maria Novella](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-maria-novella) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [Florence Baptistery](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/florence-baptistery) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Combined cathedral pass - [Basilica of San Lorenzo](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/san-lorenzo) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Paid - [Orsanmichele](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/orsanmichele) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Santo Spirito](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santo-spirito) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free - [Medici Chapels](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/medici-chapels) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [San Miniato al Monte](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/san-miniato) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free - [Brancacci Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/brancacci-chapel) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Paid, timed entry - [Giotto's Campanile](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/giottos-campanile) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Combined cathedral pass ## The Oltrarno in half a day The Brancacci Chapel and Santo Spirito, then Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. 1. [Brancacci Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/brancacci-chapel) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Paid, timed entry 2. [Santo Spirito](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santo-spirito) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free 3. [Palazzo Pitti](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-pitti) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Paid 4. [Boboli Gardens](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/boboli-gardens) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 45 min · Paid ## Don't mix it up The Brancacci Chapel belongs to Santa Maria del Carmine on the south bank, not to the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore or the basilica of Santa Maria Novella; Florence has many churches named after the Virgin Mary. ## Tips - Book a slot in advance. - Entrance to the right of the church. - Masaccio's best work is in the upper tier. - Santo Spirito is nearby. ## Questions ### What is the Brancacci Chapel famous for? Masaccio and Masolino's frescoes of the 1420s, which launched Renaissance painting, above all the Expulsion from Eden and the Tribute Money. ### Where is the Brancacci Chapel? In the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in the Oltrarno, south of the Arno; the entrance is to the right of the church front. ### Do you need to book the Brancacci Chapel? Yes, ideally in advance: visits are in small timed groups. ### Who painted the Brancacci Chapel? Masolino and Masaccio around 1424–1427; Filippino Lippi finished it in the 1480s. ### How long do you need? About 30 minutes including the short film. ## How we checked History and frescoes from English Wikipedia. Prices and hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Brancacci Chapel and Masaccio - Florence civic museums, musefirenze.it --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.