Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
The Basilica di Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, and chronologically its first great basilica, as well as the city's principal Dominican church.
The church, the adjoining cloister and chapter house contain a store of art treasures and funerary monuments. Especially famous are frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance. They were financed through the generosity of the most important Florentine families, who ensured themselves of funerary chapels on consecrated ground.
During their reign the House of Medici often visited the Santa Maria Novella for mass. In 1478, the basilica played host to a meeting of the Pazzi family, who were conspiring to commit the assassination of Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother; Giuliano de' Medici.
Deep within the basilica lay hidden the tomb of the Assassin Darius, which was explored by Ezio Auditore da Firenze shortly after his overhearing the conspirators.