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 San Miniato al Monte
Florence's finest Romanesque church
San Miniato al Monte perches above Piazzale Michelangelo.
It was built over the shrine of San Miniato by a rich
Armenian merchant. Emperor
Decius beheaded him for his religious belief in the 3rd.
century. The beautiful
multicolored facade is crowned by an eagle, a symbol
of the guild of wool importers, who financed the church
in the middle ages
 The distinguished interior is enriched
with precious mosaics, columns from ancient
Roman buildings, fragments of the inlaid
pavement which reproduce animals and signs
of the Zodiac.
Other highlights
in the church includes Michelozzo's free-standing Cappella
del Crocifisso, and the Renaissance Cappella del Cardinale del Portogallo with terracotta rounds
on the ceiling by Luca della Robbia.
There is a fresco
cycle of scenes from the Life of St Benedict by Spinello
Aretino in the sacristy.
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