|
San Miniato is a small city in Pisa Province in the Region of Tuscany, Italy. It sits at 192 meters above sea level. A poppy field in Tuscany Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ...
Directions to and from San Miniato: west south west of Florence approx. 41 km. on the SP40. West of Empoli on the SP40 approx. 10.5 km. South of Pistoia about 72 km on the SP123 (or take the A1 to Florence, then the SP40 west to San Miniato. East of Livorno on the SP40 approx. 55 km. Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area - City Proper 102 km² Population - City (2004) - Metropolitan - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ...
Empoli is a town in Tuscany, Italy, about 30 km southwest of Florence. ...
Pistoia (ancient Pistoria) is a city in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km (18 mi) west and north of Florence. ...
Livorno, sometimes in English Leghorn, (population 170,000) is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. ...
History
San Miniato is a little jewel of a city that sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley between the valleys of Egola and Elsa. It used to carry the additional sobriquet "al Tedesco" (of the Germans) to distinguish it from San Miniato al Monte, just above the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, which is just a few kilometers to the north east. San Miniato al Monte and the Bishops Palace The Basilica di San Miniato al Monte (Basilica of St Minias on the Mountain) stands atop one of the highest points in Florence, and has been described as the finest Romanesque structure in Tuscany and one of the most beautiful churches...
In medieval times, San Miniato was on the main road from France, the via Francigena, which was the main connecting route between northern Europe and Rome. It also sits at the intersection of the Florence-Pisa road and the Lucca-Sienna road. So, over the centuries San Miniato was exposed to a constant flow of friendly and hostile armies, traders in all manner of goods and services, and other travelers from near and far.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the site of the city and surrounding area has been settled since at least the paleolithic era. It would have been well-known to the Etruscans, and certainly to the Romans, for whom it was a military post called "Quarto". The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (Greek παλαιός paleos=old and λίθος lithos=stone or the Old Stone Age) was the first period in the development of human technology of the Stone Age. ...
The Etruscan civilization existed in Etruria and the Po valley in the northern part of what is now Italy, prior to the formation of the Roman Republic. ...
The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ...
The first mention in historical documents is of a small village organized around a chapel dedicated to San Miniato built by the Longobards in 783. By the end of the 10th century San Miniato boasted a sizeable population enclosed behind a moat and protected by a castle built by Otto I, from which an Imperial Vicar ruled all of Tuscany.
The first walls, with defensive towers, were thrown up in the 12th century during the time that Italy was dominated by Frederick I, known as Barbarossa. Under his successor, Fredrick II, the town was further fortified with expanded walls and other defensive works, including the Rocca and its tower. (The Rocca has long since disappeared, but the tower, which was blown up by the Nazis during the second world war has been totally rebuilt and restored.) Frederick I was the name of several European monarchs: Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (1122-1190) Frederick I Babenberg, Duke of Austria (c. ...
During the latter years of the 13th century and the entire 14th century, San Miniato was drawn into the ongoing conflict between the Ghibelline (pro Imperial) and Guelph (pro Papal) forces. Initially Ghibelline, it had become a Guelph city by 1291, allied with Florence and, in 1307, fought with them and other members of the Guelph league against Ghibelline Arezzo. By 1347 San Miniato was under Florentine control, where it remained, but for a brief period from 1367-1370 when, instigated by Pisa, it rebelled against Florence, and for another brief period between 1777 and 1779 during the Napoleonic conquest. It was still part of the Grand Duchy of Florence when the Duchy was absorbed into the modern state of Italy in 1860. The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ...
Guelph has several meanings: Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada. ...
Church of Santa Maria della Pieve Arezzo is an old city in central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. ...
Monuments Visiting the city today, one finds one self within a well-preserved medieval precinct. Apart from the wonderful view of the Valdarno, among the man-made sites to see are:
The "Il Frederico" Tower: built by Frederick II in the 13th century on the summit of the hill at an altitude of 192 meters, overlooking the entire Valdarno. It was destroyed by the Nazis to prevent the Allies from using it as a gun sighting tower, but was reconstructed in 1958.
The Cathedral or Duomo: dedicated to both Sant'Assunta and Santo Genesio, was originally a Romanesque building, but it has been remodelled several times and exhibits Gothic and some Renaissance arcchitectural elements. The facade incorporates a number of colorful majolica bowls. It is built on the Latin cross plan and has a central nave with two side aisles. The cathedral's fortified capanile - or bell tower - is called the Matilde Tower and features a strange, asymmetrical clock. Romanesque St. ...
In the traditional view, the Renaissance is understood as an historical age that was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation. ...
Diocesan Museum - next to the cathedral, this museum and gallery contains works by Filippo Lippi, Empoli, Neri di Bicci, Fra Barlomeo, Frederico Cardi (known as Cìgoli) and Verrocchio. Madonna and Child 1440-45, tempera on panel National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Fra Filippo Lippi (1406 - October 9?, 1469), commonly called Lippo Lippi, one of the most renowned painters of the Italian quattrocento, was born in Florence; his father, Tommaso, was a butcher. ...
Categories: Artist stubs | 1435 births | 1488 deaths | Italian painters | Italian sculptors ...
Palazzo dei Vicari: built by Otto I during the XII century, the palazzo incorporates one of the oldest known crenellated turrets. The interior has a number of interesting frescoes. It is now an hotel.
Palazzo Comunale: This 14th century building is still San Miniato's City Hall. It's great hall was decorated by Cenno di Francesco Cenni. It also features a small oratory, containing a 16th century altarpiece.
Chiesa San Francesco: Originally built in the early 13th century with a Romanesque facade, its interior features Gothic style chapels and frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries.
Chiesa San Domenico: was originally constructed in the 14th century, but has an incomplete facade. It's interior contains terra cotta works by Luca della Robbia and a burial monument sculpted by Rosellino. Luca della Robbia (1400-1482) was a Florentine sculptor noted for his terracotta roundels. ...
Convent of San Francesco: Purportedly founded by Saint Francis of Assisi himself in 1211 when he visited the city, the Convent stands behind the city higher up on the hill. Saint Francis of Assisi (born in Assisi, Italy, ca. ...
Other buildings and monuments worth seeing include the Bishop's Sanctuary, with a Baroque facade in the design of an amphitheater, designed by Cagoli and the Sanctuary of the Crucifix, recently restored, the desanctified Chiesa di San Martino, which has done duty as a convent, and then a prison, but which will now be used for conventions. There are also a number of Renaissance palazzi, built by such aristocratic families as the Roffia, Grifoni, Formichini, and the Bonapartes, ancestors of Napoleon. Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint In the arts, Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the artistic style that dominated it. ...
For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...
White Truffles During the last 3 weeks of November, San Miniato hosts a festival devoted to the gastronomically precious white truffle which is harvested in the area around the city. The white truffle is more highly valued than the black truffles found in Umbria and the Marche, and commands very high prices, reflected in the cost of restaurant dishes that incorporate truffles. A huge record-breaking truffle found near the village of nearby Balconevisi in 1954 weighed in at 2,520 kilos (5556 pounds). Umbria is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. ...
External links |
Feeds |
Contact