Originally it was a chapel of the Servite Order, built outside the second fortress wall of the city (1250). The church acquired its modern appearance in 1444-1481 thanks to the efforts of such architects as Michelozzo, Pagno Portinari and Antonio Manetti. The portico of the façade is adorned with Corinthian columns. The interior of the church was altered in the mid-seventeenth century.
The central portal of the church leads to the small Cloister of Vows (1447), a staged space decorated with lunettes with frescoes by Rosso Fiorentino, Pontormo and Andrea del Sarto (1511-1513).
The church houses one of the city's most venerated shrines, a depiction of the Virgin Mary begun in 1252 by a monk and finished, according to legend, by an angel. This fresco is on the left at the entrance to the church, and is usually visited by newlyweds, who place a bunch of flowers and ask for a long and happy married life.
The Church of Santissima Annunziata is located in the square of the same name, in the centre of which stands the equestrian statue of Ferdinand I de' Medici. It is paired with the statue of Cosimo I in the Piazza della Signoria; its author was also Giambologna, but it was completed by Tacca in 1608. Tacca is also the author of two fountains, depicting grotesque sea monsters, and placed in strict symmetry on either side of this square.
