Basilica of Santa Croce

With Leonardo, Luca Pacioli also came to Florence in 1500, where he stayed in the Franciscan monastery of Santa Croce.
As reported in the Codex Atlanticus, the Regent of Santa Croce, Master Giovanni, wrote to Leonardo on April 17, 1503 in regard to Saint Ignatius of Antioch and the Virgin Mary. Leonardo sent an answer through one of his collaborators concerning a commission previously discussed with Master Zaccaria, stating that: «between us no money must pass». This episode is still enigmatic, pending the finding of new elements. It refers to theological questions and to a work for which no monetary recompense was contemplated.
This architectural complex contains an incomparable series of masterpieces admired by Leonardo, such as the cycle of frescoes by Giotto and the Crucifix of Cimabue in the refectory, taken by him as model, like Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel in the first cloister.