San Miniato al Monte
A beheaded Armenian prince allegedly carried his own head up this hill — the church built on that spot has barely changed since 1013.
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One of Tuscany's finest Romanesque churches, begun by Bishop Alibrando and endowed by Emperor Henry II. The interior — raised choir, crypt, patterned pavement — has changed little in a thousand years. The Olivetan monks next door still sell their own liqueurs, honey, and herbal teas from a shop beside the church.
What to look for
- The Cappella del Crocefisso (1448) by Michelozzo, whose terracotta vault is by Luca della Robbia
- The nave's geometric patterned pavement, laid in 1207, and the Romanesque pulpit and screen of the same year
- The crypt beneath the raised choir — the oldest part of the church — and, separately, the high altar above it, which supposedly contains the bones of St. Minias himself (though evidence suggests they were removed to Metz before the church was even built)
The monastery shop next to the basilica sells the Olivetan monks' liqueurs, honey, and herbal teas — pick something up before descending the hill.
San Miniato al Monte is one of 38 sights worth the detour in Florence, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Florence pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Florence
- Michelangelo's DavidCarved for a cathedral roofline, then conscripted into politics — a 5.17-metre marble figure that became a republic's defiant face.
- Uffizi GalleryGiorgio Vasari built this as government offices in 1560; the Medici moved their art collection upstairs, and the last heiress gave it all to Florence under a formal family pact when the dynasty died out.
- Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze)Brunelleschi's dome has been the largest masonry dome ever built since 1436 — and nothing has beaten it.
- Palazzo PittiA banker's act of one-upmanship that the Medici, Napoleon, and Italian kings all ended up calling home.
- Ponte VecchioThe only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during World War II — and it has been lined with shops since the Middle Ages.
- Palazzo VecchioFlorence's 1299 town hall was built on a Ghibelline rival's rubble — and the battlements were engineered to drop boiling liquid on anyone who showed up uninvited.