SAN MINIATO
DAY 1
Arrival at Pisa Airport. A coach will take you to the lovely Ostello San Miniato in San Miniato.
Our walking tour starts with the visit to San Genesio’s Archaeological Site considered as one of the main stops along the Via Francigena by medieval pilgrims.
The site was important in the Middle Ages as it hosted bishops’ conferences, papal councils and imperial diets and it was located near the River Elsa and along the Via Francigena, the main connecting route between Northern Europe and Rome.
Sigeric the Seriuos, the Archbishop of Canterbury who described the 79 stages of his itinerary from Rome to Canterbury in a journal, stayed in San Genesio during his journey in the year 990.
Recent excavations have brought to light the ruins of a settlement known as Vicus Wallari, an 8th-century church, which was one of the biggest medieval churches in Tuscany, a monastery and an Etruscan village with its graveyard. Here you can visit a small museum housing archaeological artefacts and objects such as jars, cinerary urns and ceramic tableware.
We next head off to San Miniato, where you can have a cup of tea at Essenza, a nice café in Piazza del Popolo.
From here it easy to reach the Conservatory of Santa Chiara. The building is arranged around a cloister with arcades and it has a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. The Conservatory houses “Noli me Tangere”, a wonderful painting by Ludovico Cardi called “Il Cigoli”, a magnificent Medieval cross by Deodato Orlandi and paintings by Jacopo Chimenti and Antonio Domenico Bamberini.
If you want to taste typical Tuscan dishes such as “salumi”,“crostini”,“tagliolini” with black or white truffles, “tagliata” or Florentine steak with roast potatoes,we suggest you have lunch at Osteria l’ Upupa located in the city centre.
After lunch our tour continues towards Piazza del Popolo, where we can admire the Saints Jacopo and Lucia’s Church, also called San Domenico’s Church, dating back to the 14th century, the Cloisters of the Convent and the amazing Via Angelica, which is an ancient path famous for its chapels featuring 14th-century frescoes and 18th-century decorations.
Later on, we head for Piazza del Seminario, where we can admire the Palace of the Seminary, an 18th-century building characterized by its concave façade decorated with superb frescoes and phrases in Latin.
Our next stop is the Town Hall, which was built at the end of the 13th century. Inside we can admire two beautiful rooms: La Sala delle Sette Virtù ,with its magnificent fresco, “The Virgin Mary nursing her Child surrounded by the Seven Theological and Cardinal Virtues”, and La Sala Consiliare, where Town Council meetings are held. The room is decorated with frescoes depicting the history of San Miniato during the Middle Ages and Coats of Arms of noble families from San Miniato.
In front of the Town Hall we can admire The Sanctuary of the Most Holy Crucifix, a magnificent 18th-century Baroque church, which is completely decorated with paintings and frescoes by Antonio Domenico Bamberini and houses a tabernacle containing the famous “Holy Crucifix”, which is venerated and thought to be miraculous. In the past the wooden image of the Holy Crucifix was housed in the Oratory of Loretino, a famous museum located next to the Town Hall.
Leaving this church behind us, we reach Piazza del Duomo, where we can admire the Bishop’s Palace, the 12th-century Imperial Vicars’ Palace with its tower which used to be a prison in the past, the 12th-century Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and San Genesio, which features a wonderful Romanesque façade but also exhibits Gothic and Renaissance architectural elements, and its Bell Tower, also called Matilde Tower as the Countess Matilde di Canossa was probably born in San Miniato.
Our tour continues towards Frederick II’s Tower, also called the Fort, a 37-metre tall tower built by Frederick II of Swabia in 1217. It was the central core of the Imperial defensive system and today it is the landmark of the town.
Pier delle Vigne, Frederick II’s secretary, was imprisoned here for treason until his death, as Dante writes in his “Divine Comedy”.
From here you can admire the stunning Tuscan landscape, with the Apennines, covered with snow in winter, the Arno Valley, Volterra’s hills and the sea on sunny days.
The Saints Sebastian and Rocco’s Church, which was the Bonaparte family’s chapel and houses Saint Rocco’s relics, is worth a visit. It dates back to the 15th century and was built on the ruins of an ancient oratory.
This small one-nave church is dedicated to Saint Rocco, who is the patron saint of pilgrims, and it is one of the main stops along the Via Francigena.
The church is located in Piazza Bonaparte, a picturesque triangular square flanked by ancient palaces built by noble families from San Miniato between the 16th and the 18th centuries.
Here we can admire Bonaparte Palace, which was the residence of the Bonaparte family.
Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous Emperor of France, came to San Miniato during his campaign in Italy in 1796 in order to meet Filippo Bonaparte, who was a priest and the Bonaparte family’s last descendant, and stayed in this palace as his guest. Napoleon’s family was of Italian noble origins and they had most of their properties in San Miniato.
From the square you can get a glimpse of Frederick II’s Tower and the 14th-century Convent and Church of Saint Francis. We walk along a steep road and we reach this church, which has a Romanesque façade. Inside the church there are 16th and 17th-century paintings and frescoes depicting Saint Francis and other Franciscan saints and Saint Francis’s statue. The convent has two cloisters, many rooms and a big refectory, where you can admire a splendid painting depicting” Saint Francis and Saint Clare’s Supper”.
We suggest you have dinner at Retrobottega, where you can taste a selection of “salumi” such as “sopressata”, cured ham infused in Vin Santo, truffle and pork sausages with toasted bread, “rigatino”, “finocchiona”, “spuma di gota”,”spendido” and “mallegato”, Florentine steak with vegetables, Chianti wine and “Cantuccini” with “Vin Santo”.
Overnight stay at Ostello San Miniato.
