San Miniato al Monte Church
San Miniato al Monte Church
art site
Via del Monte alle Croci, 50125 Firenze, Italia
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According to legend, Miniato, the third century saint martyred by the Emperor Decius, came up to this isolated, panoramic site to die. The basilica named for him, and one of the most extraordinary examples of Romanesque architecture in all Tuscany, was built in the XI century. The thirteenth century façade is decorated with green and white marble. The solemn interior is characterized by elements added over the centuries which harmonize into a fascinating whole. The impressive crypt dates partly from the XI century; the marble inlays on the floor, the imposing apse mosaic of Christ Enthroned and the beautiful pulpit were made in the thirteenth. In the XIV century Spinello Aretino frescoed the Life of Saint Benedict in the sacristy. Along the central nave stands the fifteenth century chapel by Michelozzo that once held a famous crucifix. On the left nave is the Chapel of the Portuguese Cardinal that was built entirely in the mid-fifteenth century: from the Brunelleschi-style architecture to the funeral monument which is A. Rossellino’s sculptural masterpiece, the altarpiece (a copy of an original by Pollaiolo) and the sublime glazed terracotta ceiling by Luca della Robbia.
art site
Via del Monte alle Croci, 50125 Firenze, Italia
Show on map
According to legend, Miniato, the third century saint martyred by the Emperor Decius, came up to this isolated, panoramic site to die. The basilica named for him, and one of the most extraordinary examples of Romanesque architecture in all Tuscany, was built in the XI century. The thirteenth century façade is decorated with green and white marble. The solemn interior is characterized by elements added over the centuries which harmonize into a fascinating whole. The impressive crypt dates partly from the XI century; the marble inlays on the floor, the imposing apse mosaic of Christ Enthroned and the beautiful pulpit were made in the thirteenth. In the XIV century Spinello Aretino frescoed the Life of Saint Benedict in the sacristy. Along the central nave stands the fifteenth century chapel by Michelozzo that once held a famous crucifix. On the left nave is the Chapel of the Portuguese Cardinal that was built entirely in the mid-fifteenth century: from the Brunelleschi-style architecture to the funeral monument which is A. Rossellino’s sculptural masterpiece, the altarpiece (a copy of an original by Pollaiolo) and the sublime glazed terracotta ceiling by Luca della Robbia.