Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, Florence

San Miniato al Monte is a basilica set on one of Florence’s highest points, with a geometric marble façade and an adjoining Olivetan monastery. It is regarded as an outstanding Romanesque church in Tuscany and among Italy’s most scenic churches. The façade’s upper work belongs to a later phase than its beginning, and the cloth merchants’ guild funded that part while maintaining the church from 1288; its emblem crowns the façade.

Inside, the raised choir and presbytery hover above a large crypt, an arrangement little altered since the church was built. The patterned pavement dates from 1207, while the freestanding Chapel of the Crucifix was designed by Michelozzo in 1448 and has terracotta work by Luca della Robbia. Above the altar, a mosaic showing Christ with the Virgin and Saint Minias dates from 1297.

The Portuguese Cardinal’s Chapel is the church’s sole funerary chapel, created between 1460 and 1468 for Cardinal James of Lusitania and enriched by several major Florentine artists. As local legend has it, Saint Minias was beheaded under Emperor Decius, then carried his head across the Arno to this hill. The church’s construction began in 1013, and the Olivetan monks still produce liqueurs, honey, and herbal teas sold beside the church.