San Miniato al Monte

San Miniato al Monte tickets: which one to buy

Entry is free with a donation box, and the monks ask only that visitors keep silence. Nothing inside is ticketed. The church sits above Piazzale Michelangelo on one of the highest points in Florence, and getting there is the question: bus 12 or 13 from the centre climbs to the gate, a taxi takes ten minutes, and walking up from the Porta San Miniato through the rose garden takes about thirty.

Guided tours of Florence rarely include it, which is one reason it stays quiet. The Olivetan monks sell honey, liqueurs and herbal preparations from a shop beside the church. The one thing worth timing a visit around costs nothing: the community sings Gregorian vespers in the crypt in the late afternoon, every day. The monks' shop keeps shorter hours than the church and closes at midday.

Visiting San Miniato al Monte: what to see

Minias, an Armenian prince in the Roman army, was beheaded in Florence around 250 and, according to the legend, picked up his head and walked up this hill to his hermitage. A chapel stood here by the eighth century and the present basilica was begun in 1013. Its front is the finest Florentine Romanesque: white Carrara and green Prato marble in geometric panels, with a mosaic of Christ between the Virgin and St Minias, and a gilded eagle of the wool guild on the gable.

Inside, the floor is inlaid with marble zodiac signs dated 1207, a raised choir stands over an open crypt, and the sacristy is frescoed by Spinello Aretino with the life of St Benedict. The Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal, added in the 1460s, is a complete Renaissance ensemble by Rossellino, Luca della Robbia and others. The bell tower was used as an artillery platform in the siege of 1530 and Michelangelo hung mattresses on it to absorb cannon fire.

San Miniato al Monte opening hours and the best time to go

Open daily from morning to evening with a break at midday in winter. Gregorian vespers are sung in the late afternoon, usually around five thirty, and visitors may attend; this is the best half hour anywhere in Florence and costs nothing. The terrace in front gives a view over the whole city that is quieter than Piazzale Michelangelo just below. The marble front takes the afternoon sun. The monumental cemetery around the church is open and worth a walk.

Dress modestly. Photography without flash is allowed. Allow an hour, more with the walk up through the Giardino delle Rose, which is free and has a Folon sculpture collection. The walk down through the cemetery and the Porta San Miniato takes twenty minutes and ends in the Oltrarno. Vespers are sung whatever the season and the crypt is lit by candles, which is the reason to arrive a few minutes early.