Hidden Florence 3D: San Pier Maggiore is the result of a collaborative research project led by Fabrizio Nevola (University of Exeter) and Donal Cooper (University of Cambridge). The app and project have been made possible with support from the Getty Foundation, through its Digital Art History initiative; additional support was provided from the University of Exeter and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK.

San Pier Maggiore was one of the most important churches in Florence, attached to a prestigious convent of Benedictine nuns.  The church was demolished in the eighteenth century to make way for a covered market and all that remains today is a street of the same name. Its artworks are now dispersed in collections around the world, including Jacopo di Cione’s altarpiece painted for the church’s the high altar in 1371, now in the National Gallery. This free app gives you an unprecedented opportunity to experience the fourteenth-century church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence, while viewing its original altarpiece in the National Gallery, London.

This app offers a 3D visualisation of the church of San Pier Maggiore, extending the experience of the audio-guided tour of the Renaissance urban environment provided in the original Hidden Florence app. To find out more about the church, you can join the wool-worker Giovanni as he describes the rituals that took place on the piazza in front of the church, and the widow Niccolosa as she describes her personal connections with the church and its community of nuns.

Watch a short film about the app and how the technology unlocks our research:

Download the app from the AppStore or point your phone camera at the QR code here:

Read an account of the app launch and objectives written by our IT partners, Calvium. Discover more about the research and how we were received and assisted by the local neighbourhood.