It was about time I wrote a post about the San Miniato al Monte, one of my favourite churches in Florence. The church is located on the other side of the river Arno, and as the name suggests, it was built on a hill overlooking the city. It is quite…
The pleasant town of Pontassieve owes its existence to Florence. In the middle of the fourteenth century, the Signoria of Florence (i.e. the city government) decided to build a castle at this strategic location, where the river Sieve joins the river Arno. Construction of the castle commenced after a government…
One of my travel guides calls the San Simpliciano a “little jewel”. That is a bit of an exaggeration, but the church is worth a visit nonetheless. It is one of the three or four churches in Milan founded by Saint Ambrosius (ca. 340-397). The church was completed in 401…
Saint Ambrosius (ca. 340-397) is credited with founding three or four churches in Milan in the late fourth century. The Basilica Martyrum (now the Sant’Ambrogio) was one of them, the Basilica Virginum (now the San Simpliciano) another. The third church was the Basilica Apostolorum, or the Basilica of the Apostles.…
The Sant’Ambrogio is one of the oldest and most important churches in Milan. Built between 379 and 386 by Saint Ambrosius (Anglicised as Ambrose; ca. 340-397) and later named after him, the church is even older than the San Lorenzo Maggiore. According to a brochure provided by the church itself,…
Fiesole’s small but interesting archaeological museum is located right within the city’s archaeological area, where one can find the remains of an Etruscan wall, a Roman temple, Roman public baths and a Roman theatre that is still used for performances during the summer. Fiesole has had an archaeological museum since…
The Duomo of Fiesole is hardly the most elegant building in Italy. It is simple and robust, made of large blocks of tuff. The Duomo was built in the shape of a classical Roman basilica, with the apse facing southeast. Its official name is the Cattedrale di San Romolo, after…
The San Lorenzo is one of the oldest churches in Milan, and certainly one of the most interesting. It is a centrally planned church, and has often been compared to the San Vitale in Ravenna because of its shape. It is more than a century older though. It pays to…
The small town of Fiesole rises high above the much larger city of Florence in the valley. Fiesole was known as Vipsul in Etruscan times and founded perhaps as early as 700 BCE. Situated on a hill at a height of some 300 metres, it was easy to defend and…
Of the eight UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ravenna, the Sant’Apollinare in Classe is the youngest monument. Classe is nowadays a frazione of the municipality of Ravenna, a small suburb located some five kilometres south of the city centre. By chance we visited the Sant’Apollinare in Classe first, even though…
The undisputed highlight of any trip to Ravenna is a visit to the Basilica di San Vitale. This church, which is about a kilometre west of Ravenna’s railway station and is located just south of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, is world famous for its unique shape and its wonderful…