The church stands on the pre-existent oratory of the Servi di Maria (1235) which was built around the miraculous image of Our Lady of the Annunciation by seven young noblemen who decided to take monastic vows and give up worldly pleasures. As a further sacrifice, they later founded the Monastery of Monte Senario, above Fiesole. Michelozzo built the First Cloister in the mid 15th century. The main body of the Church, started in 1440 by Michelozzo and Pagno Portigiani, was later altered by Alberti, who created the impressive Tribune that can be seen on the righthand side.
Three separate environments can be reached from the plain facade, decorated with the coats of arms of Pope Leo X dei Medici frescoed by the young Pontormo : the Pucci Chapel or of San Sebastiano on the right; the large Cloister dei Morti on the left, with frescoes also by Andrea del Sarto ("Madonna della Borsa"); and the First Cloister or little Vows Cloister in the centre, frescoed throughout by masters of the Florentine Mannerist school of the early 16th century: Rosso Fiorentino, Pontormo, Franciabigio e Andrea del Sarto, who painted the face of the Virgin as a really faithful portrait of his wife, Lucrezia del Fede who apparently, according to Vasari was not faithful at all.