Behind the high altar, the vast tribune area opens out. It was probably built to the design of the great Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti, starting in 1451.

In the Baroque period, this area too was renewed and redecorated, above all by the grandiose fresco inside the dome, the work of the painter Baldassare Franceschini, called "il Volterrano" because he came from Volterra.
Of the chapels which complete the tribune, look especially at the one in the middle which was reconstructed at the end of the 16th century by the Flemish sculptor, Jean de Boulogne, whose name was italianised into Giambologna. The chapel was designed to provide a place for his own tomb and for the tombs of other Flemish artists who died in Florence. The bronze crucifix is by Giambologna and also the six bas-reliefs showing scenes of the passion.
In the chapel to the left, you can see a wooden statue of San Rocco and, on the right of the altar, a magnificent work by the 16th century German artist Veit Stoss.