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…
We would never have heard about the Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie al Sasso if we had not by chance stumbled upon a website about the churches of Pontassieve. Pontassieve itself is a municipality east of Florence with a population of about 20.000. The built-up area of this comune consists…
Even before we packed our bags and drove to Italy, we knew we wanted to visit it. Sure, we were going to visit beautiful and important cities like Florence, Siena, Arezzo and even wonderful Ravenna, but we also wanted to see something “local”, a building or a work of art…
Ravenna is by no means a large city, but it is home to an amazing eight UNESCO World Heritage sites. Most of these sites are within walking distance of each other. Combination tickets give access to the monuments at very reasonable prices, and admission to two of Ravenna’s most interesting…
The Sant’Apollinare Nuovo is an early sixth century church in the centre of Ravenna that is renowned for its beautiful wall mosaics. In fact, it is one of only two churches in Italy of which the original wall mosaics have been preserved over the centuries, the other being the Santa…
When the Ostrogothic king Theoderic died in Ravenna in 526, Italy had been part of his kingdom for over 30 years. Theoderic was anything but the stereotypical barbarian ruler. He was just, cultured, educated and mostly tolerant. Furthermore, he had excellent strategic insight and most of Italy prospered economically under…
Ravenna’s Orthodox Baptistery was built by bishop Ursus just to the north of Ravenna’s cathedral, the Duomo, which was also Ursus’ work. However, it was bishop Neon (ca. 450-473) who rebuilt and redecorated the Baptistery, and the structure is now often named the ‘Neonian Baptistery’ after him. The decorations inside…
The full name of Ravenna’s immense cathedral or Duomo is the cattedrale metropolitana della Risurrezione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo. It is dedicated to the resurrection (anastasis) of Jesus Christ. The cathedral was built in the eighteenth century on the footprint of the Late Antique cathedral dating back to the…
The so-called ‘Mausoleum of Galla Placidia’ used to be part of the Santa Croce church, a part of which can be seen on the left behind the mausoleum. The Santa Croce is now closed to the public. It was possibly built between 417 and 421, when Galla lived in Ravenna…
The San Giovanni Evangelista is perhaps the oldest church in Ravenna that is still standing. It is possible that the Santa Croce in the same city is marginally older, but we cannot know for certain. In any case, the Santa Croce is now closed to the public, so there is…