San Miniato al Monte, Romanesque basilica in Florence, Italy
San Miniato al Monte is a Romanesque basilica on the Monte alle Croci hill overlooking Florence, with a facade of white and green marble arranged in geometric patterns. A central mosaic above the entrance shows Christ between the Virgin Mary and Saint Minias.
Construction of the present church began in 1013 (or 1018) under Bishop Alibrando and was endowed by Emperor Henry II, on a site where a shrine stood by the 8th century. The adjoining monastery began as a Benedictine community, passed to the Cluniacs, and in 1373 to the Olivetans, who still run it. The campanile collapsed in 1499 and was replaced in 1523, though never finished; in 1530 Michelangelo had it wrapped in mattresses to protect it from enemy fire.
The name comes from Saint Minias, an Armenian prince in the Roman army who was denounced as a Christian and beheaded under Emperor Decius, then said to have carried his head up the hill to his hermitage. The Olivetan monks who have run the adjoining monastery since 1373 sell liqueurs, honey and herbal teas in a shop beside the church.
Visitors can reach the hilltop by climbing steps or following a gentler path that takes about 20 minutes from the city center. The church is open daily and entry is free, though donations are welcome.
The crypt holds the skull of Saint Minias in a gilded reliquary, venerated at this site for over a thousand years. Every Sunday and on weekdays, monks sing Gregorian chants at masses held at 5:30 in the evening.
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