Andrea del Verrocchio
The most unusual church in Florence is Orsanmichele. This building is an ancient corn-market that had, painted on the wall, a precious image of the Madonna and Child. The corn-market was turned into a church, and the sides of the building, which used to be open, were given walls. The walls had niches which is a hollow that a statue can stand in. The niches were big enough for life-sized statues. Many people worked at different jobs in the city of Florence. The people of different jobs belonged to organisations called guilds. Every important guild in the city wanted to have a statue of their patron saint in a niche at Orsanmichele Church. The statues were made by some of the finest sculptors of Florence.