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San Miniato is a town and commune in the province of Pisa, Tuscany; it has a population of 26.353 inhabitants. The town rises 140 meters above the sea level.

San Miniato is located along the Via Francigena that connected northern Europe to Rome during the middle Ages and it was exposed to a constant flow of men, armies, trade and culture.

Situated along this route in the heart of the Arno River Valley, San Miniato was at the intersection of the roads between Florence and Pisa, Lucca and Siena. Archaeological evidence indicates that San Miniato has a history of Etruscan and later Roman colonies, as evidenced by excavations of a III century B.C. necropolis in Fontevivo and those of a Roman villa in Antonini. The finds excavated there are kept in the Archaeological Museum in Florence and a smaller number in the Museo Civico.

The first mention in historical documents is of a small village organized around a chapel dedicated to San Miniato built by the Lombards in 783.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 Barbarossa. Under his grandson, Frederick II, the town was further fortified with expanded walls and other defensive works, including the Rocca and its tower.

During the latter years of the 13th century and the entire 14th century, San Miniato was drawn into the ongoing conflict between the Ghibelline and Guelph forces. Initially Ghibelline, it had become a Guelph city by 1291, allied with Florence and, in 1307, fought with other members of the Guelph league against the 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 newly-formed Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

The city's origin is therefore Germanic, and since the middle Ages it would be known as San Miniato al Tedesco.

San Miniato is well-established city by the end of the 19th century. It will be the Second World War to inflict on it a hard blow when the German army mine and destroy Frederick II's castle fortress and a large part of the old medieval districts. In 1957 the fortress is rebuilt from the rubble, and the city's rebirth can be admired from the plain below. San Miniato was a favored city of emperors and other famous people, as Michelangelo wrote in one of his manuscripts, he met with Pope Clement VII in San Miniato where the pontiff commissioned him to paint the Sistine Chapel. A few years later, Michel de Montaigne stopped there and recorded the visit in his work “Travel to Italy”. It may be that another great traveler, Wolfgang Goethe, whose journey between Florence and Siena was documented, stopped to visit San Miniato al Tedesco, the Rocca, the castle of his fellow countryman Frederick II and the 16th century Accademia degli Affidati.

The Corsican branch of the Bonaparte family is descended from a noble San Miniato family as well. Twice the young Napoleon lived in San Miniato with relatives, and he returned again in 1797 during the Italian Campaign, when he interrupted his advance and held a council of war in uncle’s house in the square having the same name. The economy of the town is mainly based on the tannery industry whose add several packaging and food firms. The agriculture is mainly practiced for foddering the cattle.

Places to visit in San Miniato

• Duomo - dedicated to both Sant'Assunta and Santo Genesio. It was originally a Romanesque building, but it has been remodeled several times and exhibits Gothic and some Renaissance architectural elements. Only the red-brick facade survives from the original 12th century building. The majolica plates set within it shows evidence of trade with Spain or North Africa. They seem to represent the North Star and the constellations of Ursus Major and Minor: key reference points for early navigators.
• Piazza della Republicca - also known as Piazza del Seminario, occupies a long, narrow space dominated by the decorated facade of the 17th century seminary. The frescoes on the facade show allegories of the Virtues painted below quotations from key religious texts, for instance the writings of Pope Gregory.
• Museo Diocesano d`Arta Sacra - located next to the Duomo, the museum contains a number of important 15th century works gathered from local churches. These include a Crucifixion by Filippo Lippi and a teracotta bust of Christ attributed to Verocchio.
• Rocca - a staircase behind the Museo Diocesano leads towards Frederick II`s ruined 13th century castle. While the remains are run down, the site offers extraordinary views along the entire Arno valley, from Fiesole to Pisa.
• Palazzo Comunale - this 14th century building is still San Miniato's Town Hall. Its great hall was decorated by Cenno di Francesco Cenni. It also features a small oratory, containing a 16th century altarpiece.
• The church of San Francesco - originally built in the early 13th century with a Romanesque façade, its interior features Gothic style chapels and frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries.
• 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.

San Miniato has also a number of Renaissance palazzi, built by such aristocratic families as the Roffia, Grifoni, Formichini and the Bonapartes, ancestors of Napoleon.

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.

For more information visit

• Comune San Miniato