The abbey basilica of San Miniato al Monte is a religious
building in Florence. It has the dignity of a minor basilica, is
located in one of the highest places in the city, and is one of the
best examples of Florentine Romanesque style.
Five abbeys
existed in Florence and its surroundings: to the north the Badia
Fiesolana, to the west the Badia a Settimo, to the south the abbey
of San Miniato, to the east the Badia a Ripoli and in the center the
Badia fiorentina.
San Miniato was the first martyr of the city. He was probably a Greek merchant or an Armenian prince on pilgrimage to Rome. It is said that, around 250, when he arrived in Florence, he began the life of a hermit and that he was beheaded during the anti-Christian persecutions of the emperor Decius who then left the place of execution with the martyr's head in his hand, reaching the other side of the Arno on the site of his hermitage where the current basilica now stands, on Mons Florentinus. Later, a sanctuary was erected on this site and, in the 8th century, a chapel. The construction of the current church began in 1018 under Bishop Alibrando and continued under Emperor Henry II. The monks of the Benedictine order, who founded it, later joined the Cluniac congregation and were finally replaced, in 1373, by those of the Olivetan congregation, who still live there today. The monks produce famous liqueurs, honey and herbal teas, which they sell in a shop adjacent to the church
The facade of San Miniato is one of the masterpieces of Florentine
Romanesque architecture, inspired by a solid and geometric classicism
taken from the marble inlays of Roman monumental buildings. It was begun
in the 11th century and is divided into two main bands: the lower one is
characterized by five round arches supported by half-columns in green
serpentine with bases and Corinthian capitals in white marble, a
reference to the first early Christian basilicas with five naves
(actually the Florentine church has only three aisles); the upper part
highlights the structure of the church, with the two symmetrical slopes
of the lateral naves which make us perceive the presence of the three
naves. The two symmetrical pediments of the side naves are decorated
with a two-tone white marble and green serpentine from Prato, which
through geometric shapes reconstruct the Roman opus reticulatum. The
central part of the second level is characterized by an ideal tetrastyle
loggia supported by four pillars, which divide it into three parts.
At the center of the loggia there is a window framed by two columns,
supported by marble lion heads, which are surmounted by a tympanum in
the center of which there is an inlay of a vase between two doves. In
the upper panel is the mosaic of Christ between the Virgin and San
Miniato, which was composed in 1260. Finally, the pediment takes up the
style of the first order with a series of nine white and green arches
surmounted by a cross and candelabra. The upper parts date back to at
least the 12th century and were financed by the Arte di Calimala (guild
of wool merchants), who were responsible for maintaining the church from
1288 (the copper eagle crowning the facade was their symbol).
It
is interesting to note the connection with Roman art of the first pagan
temples, in fact the first layer consists of arches that support a
pronaos (understood as a temple) the church of San Miniato al Monte in
fact can be traced back to the Temple of Jupiter in Terracina. In
addition, the two-tone of the building will be taken up for centuries by
the Florentine builders, including Filippo Brunelleschi who will use the
church of San Miniato and the baptistery of San Giovanni as his
examples, also in Florence.
In a back position, on the left,
stands the bell tower which, during the siege of Florence in 1530, was
used as a post for the city's artillery and was protected by
Michelangelo from enemy fire. Work resumed after the war period, the
bell tower was finished in 1535, although its shape still remains rather
squat today. In the following centuries the bell tower was the
protagonist of ups and downs which saw it increasingly subjected to
neglect. At the beginning of the twentieth century the situation was
critical but, in 1908, the restoration work began which lasted until
1929, the year in which the four bells were rebuilt, of which the
largest weighs 4 tons.
The interior of the church is somewhat unusual, with the chancel and
chancel raised on a platform above the large crypt, and has changed
little since the building was first constructed. The upper part is
accessed by two lateral stairways, which are connected to the two
lateral naves, while from the central nave, behind the lower altar, the
shorter staircase branches off to descend to the crypt. An arch
decorated with marble inlays stands in the center of the nave (at the
height of the stairways) and recalls the one behind the apse, in the
same shapes.
The ceiling is in truss. The inlaid floor dates back
to 1207 and, together with that of the baptistery, is among the best in
the city, especially with regard to the panel dedicated to the zodiac,
which has a precise correspondence with that of San Giovanni.
The
inlaid central band leads to the center of the nave dominated by the
altar, which is actually the Chapel of the Crucifix by Michelozzo (1448)
which originally housed the miraculous Crucifix today in Santa Trinita.
The barrel vault of the Chapel was decorated in terracotta by Luca della
Robbia. The altarpiece on wood is attributed to Agnolo Gaddi.
The
raised choir and presbytery contain a magnificent Romanesque pulpit from
1207. The apse basin is decorated with a large mosaic of the Redeemer
between the Madonna and Saint Miniato, from 1297, with the same motif as
that of the facade and probably by the same anonymous artist. The
crucifix which dominates the main altar is attributed to Luca della
Robbia. To the left of the choir, along the side nave wall, is the
Tamburini pipe organ opus 759 (1979), with 45 stops on three manuals and
pedal.
The Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal in the left aisle was built between 1459 and 1467 in memory of Cardinal Giacomo di Lusitania, ambassador passing through Florence, where he died in 1459. The only funerary chapel in the church, it was designed by Antonio Rossellino, author, together with his brother Bernardo, also of the sculptural decoration of the tomb. The altarpiece and some frescoes are by Antonio and Piero del Pollaiolo; the panel of the Annunciation and the series of Prophets, Evangelists and Fathers of the Church are by Alesso Baldovinetti, while the polychrome glazed terracotta ceiling is by Luca della Robbia.
The crypt, the oldest part of the church (11th century), is
surmounted by the high altar which is supposed to contain the bones of
San Miniato (although there is evidence that these had already been
brought to Metz before the church was built). As long as the presbytery,
it is accessed via five arches which lead to three flights of stairs
corresponding respectively to the naves of the church. The height varies
from 4 to 4.5 meters. On the ceiling there are cross vaults resting on
thirty-eight columns which, in turn, divide the crypt into three central
and four lateral naves. The four aisles on the left have an asymmetry as
there is a sail reinforced in later times with round brick arches. On
this vault there are frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi which date back to 1341.
The columns and capitals are of different workmanship and materials
(grooved marble, smooth marble, pietra serena, terracotta); on the
capitals there is still a trace of the gilding carried out in 1342 by
Taddeo Gaddi. The altar is most likely later than that of the
presbytery, it was once surrounded by a gate (1338), still partially
present, and by a wooden choir. The lighting is due to five windows.
Sacristy
The sacristy, which can be accessed from the left aisle
of the presbytery, is decorated with a large cycle of frescoes on the
Life of San Benedetto by Spinello Aretino (1387). Ribs start from the
four pillars located at the corners and contribute to the cross
vaulting. Before the current stained glass window, built by Raffaello
Payer between 1860 and 1961, it is worth mentioning the Gothic window
destroyed in 1630. The small room with the sink, added at a later time,
dates back to 1470-1472. The wooden wardrobes, restored at the beginning
of the twentieth century, are the work of Moniciatto.
Adjacent to the church is the monastery, documented since the origins
of the church, but rebuilt in 1426 by the Arte di Calimala, opened in
the center by the cloister, decorated with frescoes detached and
relocated in situ by Paolo Uccello with Stories of the hermit saints .
The painter is documented at work in the decoration of the abbey
refectory in 1455, which would suggest a close dating also for the
frescoes in the cloister, made in collaboration with Antonio di Papi,
perhaps as a gift (or legacy) from private individuals for the monks.
The scenes, framed by architectural scores in green earth on a base
characterized by the presence of studs, were faded and were invisible as
early as the 17th century. The frescoes were rediscovered and published
by Matteo Marangoni in 1930, as a work by Paolo Uccello, then detached
and restored by G. Rosi (1969-71), on which occasion the sinopias were
found.
Bernardo Buontalenti also took part in the decoration of
the cloister, who in 1547 replaced a scene by Paul with one of his very
rare Christ on the road to Emmaus, still preserved.
Next to the
cloister, in 1295, bishop Andrea de' Mozzi began the construction of the
fortified archbishopric finished in 1320 by bishop Antonio d'Orso,
intended as a summer residence for the Florentine bishops, then passed
on to the monastery in 1337 and later also used as a stable and
hospital.
The whole complex is surrounded by defensive walls,
originally hastily built by Michelangelo during a siege and modified in
the construction of a real fortress in 1553 under Cosimo I.
In
1924 the monastery was radically restored and since then it has once
again housed the Olivetan Benedictines.
In the basilica of San Miniato al Monte there is a solstice sundial
among the oldest still functioning in Europe.
On the floor of the
basilica there is a marble zodiac dating back to 1207, on which for a
few moments near solar noon in Florence on the day of the summer
solstice the sign of cancer depicted here is illuminated by a ray of
sunlight.
The rediscovery of this astronomical phenomenon inside
the church dates back only to 2011.