The Church of San Miniato al Monte
The Church of San Miniato al Monte is located on the heights of Florence, Via del Monte alle Croci, near Piazzale Michelangelo.
Address: 24 Via del Monte alle Croci.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 9:30–13:00 and 15:30–18:00. Sunday and public holidays, 15:30–17:30.
Admission: free
In 783 Charlemagne granted property to build a chapel meant to house the body of San Miniato, beheaded during the persecutions of Decius. In the 11th century Emperor Henry II financed a new building, but the present structure developed mainly from the 11th to the 13th century thanks to gifts from the cloth merchants' guild.
The facade of white and green marble clearly shows the three phases of construction. The lower zone has blind arcades; the middle zone and the 12th-century mosaic representing Christ in Majesty are already more complex in execution; the triangular pediment has still more marked decorative elements.
The interior follows a basilican plan with three naves, without a transept, with a polychrome wooden roof frame. The columns and capitals are from different periods, because they were taken from Roman and Byzantine buildings. The paving, in marquetry of marbles, alternates geometric elements and representations of the zodiac. In the center of the nave, the tabernacle built in 1448 is by Michelozzo.
A staircase leads to the raised choir, whose apse is decorated with a mosaic of 1297 that also shows a Christ in Majesty.
The crypt dates from the 11th century. It houses the relics of Saint Miniatus and has seven naves separated by ancient columns.
The chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal, built by Antonio Manetti in 1461–1466, holds the body of the nephew of Afonso V of Portugal. The vault was decorated by Luca della Robbia, and the marble funerary monument, of extreme delicacy, is by Antonio Rossellino.
The sacristy, in the Gothic style, is adorned with frescoes depicting episodes from the life of Saint Benedict. The walls of the church are themselves painted in fresco.
