page_title: San Miniato al Monte
section_title: Church complex
hierarchical_section_title: San Miniato al Monte / Church complex
context_page_description: San Miniato al Monte is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic churches in Italy. There is an adjoining Olivetan monastery, seen to the right of the basilica when ascending the stairs.
context_section_description: Adjacent to the church is the fine cloister, planned as early as 1426 and built from 1443 to mid-1450s. It was also designed by Bernardo and Antonio Rosselino, and financed by the Arte della Mercantia of Florence, and the fortified bishop’s palace, built in 1295 and later used as a barracks and a hospital. The whole complex is surrounded by defensive walls, originally built hastily by Michelangelo during the siege and in 1553 expanded into a true fortress (fortezza) by Cosimo I de' Medici. The walls now enclose a large ornate monumental cemetery, the Porte Sante, laid out in 1854. Buried there are Carlo Collodi, creator of Pinocchio; politician Giovanni Spadolini; painter Pietro Annigoni; poet and author Luigi Ugolini; film producer Mario Cecchi Gori;  sculptor Libero Andreotti; fine artist Maria Luisa Ugolini Bonta; soprano Marietta Piccolomini; writer Giovanni Papini; and experimental physicist Bruno Benedetto Rossi.
caption: The Cemetery from the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte by Hans von Bartels.
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