The Minor Basilica and Abbey of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is located in the city of Florence, built high on top a hill with a panoramic view of that storied Italian city. The basilica is, in point of fact, considered one of the premiere examples of the Florentine Romanesque and is dedicated to a third century martyr who is considered the first Christian martyr of Florence, living his life as a hermit on this spot before being beheaded during the Decian persecutions. Construction on the basilica and monastery began in A.D. 1018, before being entirely completed sometime in the thirteenth century.
When the sanctuary was originally established, it was occupied by the Benedictine Order, and since the last quarter of the fourteenth century, it has been in the hands of the Olivetan's -- a Benedictine congregation know for their distinctive cream coloured version of the Benedictine habit.
The exterior of the basilica is typically Tuscan and Florentine in character, echoing what is also found on many other impressive facades in the region, comprised of polychromatic marbles of white and green. Unlike some of the other facades of this type in city however, facades which were sometimes added in modern centuries, the facade of this basilica is original, begun in the eleventh century.
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| The central window on the upper part of the facade |
Turning our attention to the interior, we find both a very familiar setting in one sense, but also a very curious one in another.
Taken at its most basic, we find here many of the features typical to the basilica style of architecture. We have triple nave, an open-trussed timber roof, and terminating the end of the central nave we have a classic semi-circular apse. But there are some differences as well, and this must at least in part be understood by virtue of the fact that this is a monastic church I think, thus focused primarily on the monks and the monastic liturgy.
The differences that I refer to here are that the nave proceeds as usual until it hits a wall of sorts. Here we find an altar covered with a barrel-vault canopy -- but this is not the main altar of the church. This is rather considered the Chapel of the Crucifix. Behind and around this chapel you will see open spaces, and here is found the crypt. Located above this crypt is the monastic choir, presbytery and high altar of the basilica. This elevated choir and presbytery are accessed through stairs located on each of the two side naves.
Now if this seems entirely unique, a good comparator from a Roman context would be the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura which effectively has a similar layout -- though it is worth noting that San Lorenzo was not originally constructed that way. The main difference here is that the choir and presbytery is constructed in such a way that one cannot even see the main altar from the nave -- but here again, it may be important to recall this is a monastic church and thus its main focus is on the monks and their celebration of the monastic liturgy.
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| A view from the Chapel of the Crucifix looking back toward the nave |
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