The church was part of the conventual complex founded in 1251 by the Umiliati, who had come to Florence from Lombardy in 1239. Although their Rule had been approved by Pope Honorius III, the Order with its fanatical ideal of poverty was felt to teeter on the edge of heresy. It had been founded as a lay congregation for both men and women devoted to Evangelical perfection and poverty, and to physical labour rather than alms-begging. They produced woollen fabrics, and glass. In their arrival in Florence in 1239, the Umiliati settled first outside the city at San Donato in Polverosa, in the area of present-day Novoli, and then near the chapel of Santa Lucia, whose property included the oratory on the borgo where they built their convent and church ‘ad honorem Sanctorum Omnium (in honour of all the Saints).Between 1251 and 1260 the complex was completed. The site was especially suitable for the working of wool, because where the Mugnone (a small river) ran into the River Arno, beside the Carraia Gate, a small island was formed near Santa Lucia and Ognissanti, its third side being a canal which drove water-wheels and fulling-mills. To make the most of this source of energy the Umiliati constructed the Santa Rosa weir, as well as an intricate system of canals.