The Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine is a landmark in the history of Renaissance art. Commissioned by a wealthy Florentine silk merchant in the 1420s, the chapel was painted with frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino depicting the life of St. Peter and the theme of redemption.

In later years, the chapel suffered at the hands of the Florentine government when its patron, Felice Brancacci, was exiled and declared an enemy of the state. The "Damnatio Memoriae" was executed, and the faces of the chapel's patrons were destroyed, only to be restored by Filippino Lippi fifty years later. A disastrous fire in the late 1700's blackened the frescoes until they could hardly be seen; they were restored in 1981-90.

Masaccio's works, including the painfully expressive Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, have inspired the great artists of the High Renaissance, including Michelangelo. Your visit not only includes a chance to view these famous frescoes, but your own personal tablet to explain their history and restoration.