San Miniato al Monte ★

A gem of a Romanesque church perched atop a hill overlooking Florence

San Miniato al Monte.Florence's only true Romanesque church—built in the 11th century with a beautiful facade and a wondrous, moving space inside—perches atop a hill amid greenery in the Oltrarno.

For every 10,000 people who say "Ooo! Look at that pretty church up there!" and snap a photo of it from afar, maybe one bothers making his way up here to see it up close. Their loss. The church is amazing—and the views across Florence from up here are stupendous.

(Oh, and no matter what the movie showed, it was a vista across the Arno to this church that was the "view" discussed in EM Foster's famous book, "A Room with View.")

The interior of San Miniato al Monte in FlorenceThe facade is one of the loveliest in Tuscany, a geometric progression of arches and rectangles picked out in green and white.

Just like modern office buildings or sports stadiums, the corporation that funded the project—the medieval Arte di Calimata wool guild—"signed" the building with its symbol, and eagle clutching a bale of cloth, perched atop the facade.

The interior—practically unaltered since 1163—is a throwback to the middle ages, with the altar space, choir, and mosaic-clad apse elevated above a huge hall-crypt.

This holy end of the church is separated from the nave by the beautiful Cappella del Crocifisso, a 15th century addition designed by Michelozzo and decorated with glazed terracottas by Luca dell Robbia to house Agnolo Gaddi's Crucifix.

Michelangelo defends the city with the help of San Miniato, Lapo, and some spare bedding

Back outside the church, peek around the left side of the church (the flank facing Florence) to see the unfinished bell tower, raised in 1523 by Baccio d'Agnolo to replace the original, which had collapsed.

The tower itself is no great shakes, but it did play a role in Florentine history. First a bit of simplified background. In 1527, following Charles V's infamous Sack of Rome (during which Medici Pope Clement VII was chased from the Vatican and, briefly, from power), Florence took the opportunity to chase the pope's cousin Ippolito de' Medici from the city and set up a Florentine Republic.

By 1529 Clement VII and Charles V had reconciled, and the Medici returned with the Spanish army at its back to retake the city, leading to the 10-month Siege of Florence. Michelangelo—who had deftly switched from a lifetime of Medici patronage to Republican city patronage—was made Governor of Fortifications, and he viewed San Miniato as a key link in the city defenses.

He placed two cannon atop the bell tower, manned by an artilleryman named Lapo. Of course, placing heavy artillery in such a prominent and deadly spot made the bell tower the first target for the encroaching army to take out, but Michelangelo, as usual, had an ingenious solution.

He hung mattresses down the sides of the bell tower which effectively absorbed the impact on incoming cannonballs. Lapo, undoubtedly, was grateful, as both his position and the tower held together during the entire 10-month siege.

Republican forces, however, did not, and in 1530 another cousin, Alessandro de' Medici, triumphantly rode into the city to take control back for the family. Medici rule over Florence would continue uninterrupted until their line petered out in 1737 (at which point power passed to the Austrian Dukes of Lorraine, into whose house the Medici had long before intermarried).

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