Map

The church was built in the 10th –11th centuries in Romanesque style. It subsequently experienced heavy modifications including the addition of a triple-arched portico. According to the Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari, Filippo Brunelleschi built here a chapel, the Ridolfi Chapel, in which he studied, on a smaller scale, architectural elements later used in his famous dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence. The chapel was later destroyed. Since 1542 it was held by the Franciscans monks of the Minorite Order. The entrance portico was remade by order of Cosimo I de' Medici in 1580, with the help of the architect Bernardino Radi. The bell tower was designed by Gherardo Silvani in 1660. The church was damaged when the Arno River flooded Florence in 1966. Repairs of the church after the flood led to the restoration of some of the historical architectural features,and the discovery of columns belonging to the original Romanesque church in the Baroque interior.

When Florence expanded outside the third city wall, several flourishing new streets were built, the so-called “borghi”: one of them, Borgo San Jacopo, is located in Oltrarno (beyond the river Arno) and has mantained its mediaeval structure to our day. Borgo San Jacopo is located between two bridges: Ponte Vecchio to the east and Ponte a Santa Trinita to the west. The first evidence of this street dates back to the end of the 12th century, although already in 1050 a hospital for the pilgrims on the way to Rome had already been built on the location that today lies between the east end of the street and Ponte Vecchio. At the beginning of 13th Century some defensive structures were built to protect this thriving part of Florence: a palisade was erected, which later evolved to a stone wall, and several important families built their fortified homes here, some of which still stand today. Two religious buildings are also located in Borgo San Jacopo: the church of San Jacopo Soprarno, founded in the 10th Century, which in May 2006 became the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Jacob Apostle, and the former rooms of the Compagnia di San Jacopo, an association established for the Jubilee of 1300 in order to provide assistance to the pilgrims. At the end of the street towards Ponte a Santa Trinita there is Palazzo Frescobaldi, the structure of which includes sections built in different periods, and the fountain of Buontalenti (17th Century). Borgo San Jacopo was almost completely destroyed by German mines in 1944: after the war the street was rebuilt, by restoring the ancient towers (where possible) and adding modern buildings whose colours and materials were inspired to those of the unrecoverably destroyed buildings. The Church of San Jacopo Apostle boasts elements from different periods and styles - from Romanesque to Baroque. The Romanesque church with three naves dates back to 12th century, but it was restructured several times and its original form has been deeply alterated: the façade is characterized by an arcade dating back to the original church, although it was enhanced in 1580 with elements from the Church of San Donato in Scopeto, demolished in 1529 during the construction of fortifications. The bell-tower we see today was built in 1660 by Gherardo Silvani. The interior was modified in the 18th Century, when the Ridolfi Chapel was demolished with its dome built by Brunelleschi (perhaps it was a scaled-down demonstrative example of the famous Dome of the Cathedral, as Vasari says). In the front stand pronounced columns and the facade is adorned with animal heads. Inside the church we find eleven side chapels enriched by gilded stuccos; the frescoes on the vault are a work of Vincenzo Meucci; those in the presbytery (Glory of San Jacopo) and behind the main altar were painted by Matteo Bonechi. At the side altars, paintings by various Florentine artists from 17th-18th Century.

The church of San Jacopo Soprarno, founded in the 10th Century, in May 2006 became the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Jacob Apostle. Nowadays the church is affiliated to ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE HOLY METROPOLIS OF ITALY AND MALTA The church has a regular calendar of activities, not only connected to liturgies, as • Catechism meetings • Lending Library • Hagiography lessons • Social grocery • Social pharmacy

The four companies of San Jacopo in Oltrarno (or of Nicchio), of San Girolamo, of San Paolo and of Sant'Antonio Abate constituted the Florentine confraternities called holes, characterized by the practice of flagellation, by the discipline and by the use of meeting in prayer at night. The confreres of these companies were called "beaten" and, depending on their habit, white or black. Originally from the 14th century, the Compagnia di San Jacopo was also known as the nicchio (conch), attribute of the patron saint Jacopo (the scallop shell was given to the pilgrims who visited Santiago de Compostela who, like their patron saint, could use it to drink); placed under the spiritual protection of the Vallombrosani, he owned a chapel adjacent to the church with access from the village. The Compagnia, which in 1460 was united with that of San Sebastiano, called dei Fanciulli (later suppressed in 1792), survived for a long time with the name of Buca di San Jacopo and Santa Felicita: it was in fact among the nine saved by Pietro Leopoldo in 1785 and still deals with charity

As to use :
It could be interesting to read the curiosities about this church.
San Jacopo Sopr'Arno, has been defined by Florentine people the church "with its backside in the river”.
This Church is linked to the traditional Palio dei Navicelli: on 25 July, on the occasion of San Jacopo, Florentine boatmen have competed since 1200 in a kind of regatta along the river, along a stretch of water from Ponte Vecchio to the fishery of Santa Rosa. Probably inspired by the sea battles of the ancient world, the Palio dei Navicelli, in honor of the Saint, started right from the Church of San Jacopo Sopr'Arno.
According to Vasari, here the great Brunelleschi built a dome cover in 1418 in which he experimented on a small scale the techniques he will use in the future to create the majestic dome of the Duomo.

The particularity of the Church is represented by the fact that the apse, as well as the houses close to it, rest on the characteristic "sporti", or architectural protuberances that support the buildings making them protrude on the river or, as the official name of the building suggests , "Sopr'Arno". When the river level rises, it is easy to see how the waters touch the apse of San Jacopo, for this reason dubbed by the Florentines "the church with the backside in the Arno". "

Reading of a newspaper article with students
https://www.pressreader.com/italy/corriere-fiorentino/20170328/281599535332949

Analysis of pictures avalaible on web
http://www.chiesaortodossa-firenze.org/photosEN.html