San Miniato al Monte

San Miniato is a magnificent Romanesque church in what is probably a unique, but in any case certainly a splendid, urban environmental setting.

After the middle of the 16th century, it was enclosed inside the Fort of San Miniato, designed and built for Cosimo I by Giovanbattista Belluzzi, who was nicknamed "il San Marino" after his birthplace.
The church has a well-proportioned façade with five closed arcades and, if you look at the upper part, an elegant window is surmounted by a beautiful 13th century mosaic showing Christ enthroned between the Virgin Mary and San Miniato.
The interior with its three naves and raised crypt is a superb example of Romanesque architecture, and the pavement, pulpit and presbytery enclosure are truly masterpieces of marble inlay work. The chancel before the apse is adorned with a mosaic from the end of the 13th century. The crypt itself has a special atmosphere with its seven naves and relics of the martyr San Miniato.
After you return to the main body of the church, go back towards the façade and you will see on the right the Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal.