Church Saint Francis, Gothic church in San Miniato, Italy

The Church of San Francesco in San Miniato is a large brick complex begun in 1276 around an earlier small temple to Saint Minias. Its facade keeps the late-Romanesque layout, with a portal cut into the brickwork that still shows earlier openings and the older, smaller building. The rear is held up by large arches, and inside a single nave widens into three, divided by two round arches on pillars, ending in three Gothic apsidal chapels.

The brick complex was built from 1276, enlarging a small temple dedicated to the protomartyr Miniatus. In 1343 new rooms were added, the church was raised and chapels were built in the presbytery area. The building was renovated again between 1404 and 1480, including the lower church.

The single nave widens into three sections divided by two round arches on pillars, with a presbytery closed by three Gothic apsidal chapels. Five stone altars line the walls, placed there at the cost of the 14th-century frescoes; only a Saint Christopher of the school of Masolino survives between the first and second altars on the left.

Access from Piazza della Repubblica is straightforward, with the church easily walkable from the main square. Note that religious services may affect visiting times, so checking ahead helps plan your visit better.

The organ, built in 1593 by Cesare Romani and enlarged in 1766 by Antonio and Filippo Tronci, sits on a cantoria in the first bay of the left side aisle. It has 12 registers on a single manual and pedal, with fully mechanical transmission and a case of principal pipes in the Tuscan Renaissance style.