San Miniato is a town and commune located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. It has a population of around 26,353 people and lies about 40 km from several major Tuscan cities like Florence, Pisa, Lucca, and Pistoia. The town has a historic medieval center dating back to the 8th century and contains numerous historic buildings, churches, and monuments from its time as a Lombard settlement and later a commune and bishopric under Florentine rule. Agriculture, leather tanning, and the white truffle of San Miniato Hills are important to the local economy.

1. San Miniato is a town and commune in the
province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany,
Italy.
Comune di San Miniato
Municipal coat of arms
Country Italy
Region Tuscany
Province Pisa (PI)
Elevation 140 m (459 ft)
Area 102 km² (39.4 sq mi)
Population
- Total 26,353
- Density 258/km² (668/sq mi)
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2. San Miniato lies in the heart of Tuscany about 40 km
from Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Pistoia and a little
further from Volterra, Siena, S. Gimignano and
Livorno. The northern border of the territory of San
Miniato is the river Arno. This wide plain is heavily
urbanized and near the modern residential towns, there
are industries and workshops, operating mainly in the
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3. field of leather tanning. The vast area of the Valdegola, south of San
Miniato, represents two thirds of the territory and is a “green lung” with
ancient agricultural traditions. The landscape is enchanting, with
monumental tobacco mills, now in a state of abandonment, old boroughs,
ancient churches, Medicean villas and ancient castles. The historic centre
still has the features of a medieval borough with the oldest part at the
centre, consisting of the Cathedral, the Episcopal Palace, the Imperial
Palace and the Fort. Some of the most important monuments containing
several paintings and other works of art are: the Monastery and
Conservatory of Santa Chiara, Grifoni Palace, the Church of Saint Jacopo
and Sainte Lucia (early 14th
century) with the annexed Convent of Saint
Domenico, the Episcopal Palace and the Imperial Palace (originally built
towards the 12th
century), the Cathedral (built in the 12th
century), the
Tower of Frederick II, also known as the Fort (built in the 13th
century),
“Piazza and Palazzo del Seminario” (17th
century), the Sanctuary of the
Most Holy Crucifix(built by the architect Ferri at the beginning of the 18th
century), the Town Hall with the Council Hall, completely frescoed
(erected in the early 14th
century), the Oratory of the Loretino, the
monumental Convent of Saint Francis (12th century), “Piazza Bonaparte”
with its characteristic
palazzos and the Church of Saint
Catherine in “Piazza XX
Settembre” (14th
century).
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4. San Miniato is a land of Etruscan and then Roman settlements( as it is
witnessed by the excavations of a necropolis from the 3rd
century BC) and
a Roman villa. The centre of the town dates back to the 8th
century, when,
seventeen Lombards built a church dedicated to the martyr Miniato. The
town therefore has Germanic origins, and in the Middle Ages it became
known as San Miniato al Tedesco. Over the next five centuries, San
Miniato grew as a medieval fortress. In 962
Otto I of Saxony made it one of the centres
of imperial administration, and in 1218
Frederick II of Swabia built his castle here.
Later San Miniato became a free Commune.
Great monasteries, schools, institutions and
hospitals were built during this period. At
the end of the 14th
century San Miniato had
to submit to the Florentine domination. Mary Magdalen of Austria, the
German wife of Cosimo dei Medici, favoured San Miniato, making it into
a bishop’s seat in 1622. The town grew greatly in the next century. Thanks
to the diocesan see, San Miniato was enriched with the “Sanctuary of the
Most Holy Crucifix” and the Seminary. The cultural life was fertile and
academies for culture and study such as the “Accademia degli Euteleti”
were created. At the end of the 19th
century, San Miniato had become a
town in its own right. During the Second World War the German army
mined and destroyed the fortress of Frederick II and part of the medieval
district. But it was soon rebuilt. In 1957 the fortress was rebuilt to indicate
the rebirth of the town.
The museum system consists of a network of exhibition centres.
The Conservatory of Santa Chiara, founded in the 13th
century,
contains important works of art among which paintings by Ludovico
Cardi, known as “il Cigoli”, and the cross by Deodato Orlandi (1301).
The Accademia degli Euteleti in Palazzo Migliorati was founded in the
17th
century as an academy for science and the arts. It contains a precious
library, the funeral mask of Napoleon Bonaparte and memories of the
Bonaparte family from San Miniato. The 13th
century the Oratory of the
Loretino hosts a precious altar made by Francesco Lanfranchi in 1527
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5. and beautiful frescoes from the end of the 15th
century. The “Museo
Diocesano” contains 14th
- century paintings and a bust of the Redeemer
made in the workshop of Verrocchio. Via Angelica comprises three
chapels with 18th
-century decorations and 14th
-century frescoes. The
small Museo Archeologico, in the complex of St. Domenico, contains
the most significant testimonies of the excavations carried out in the
areas of Fontevivo and San Genesio. The “Rocca” is the last remaining
part of the fortress built by Frederick II of Swabia. It was the central
core of the imperial defensive system.
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7. The ancient monastery of Santa Chiara was founded in 1226 and a
community of Clares stayed there till 1785, when the monastery was
transformed into a “Conservatory” for the education of girls. Later, after
the unification of Italy, the institute passed to the Ministry of Education
and it is still a school premises. The original nucleus of the building is
arranged around a cloister with arcades and also comprises a chapel
dedicated to Mary Magdalene. The Convent contains an important
collection of works of art.
This palace was built by Giuliano
of Baccio d’Agnolo for
Ugolino Grifoni, great master of Altopascio and secretary of the grand
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8. Duke Cosimo I. It was finished in 1555. During the Second World War it
was destroyed but today it is completely restored. It is now the premises of
the “Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di San Miniato”.
Via Angelica is one of the most ancient connecting routes between the
heart of the town and the countryside. Three chapels open onto it, among
which the Oratory of Saint Urban is particularly interesting. Underneath
there are17th
-century decorations, showing scenes from the Way of the
Cross,remarkable fragments of former frescoes (second half of the 12th
century) and a rare picture of Saint Urban Pope holding the image of Saint
Paul and Saint Peter.
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9. Between 1440 and 1500, in the square where the Palace of Seminary is
located today, there were houses and shops leaned at the chatelains wall. In
1650 the bishop Angiolo Pichi built a small building for the daily lessons
of twelve clergymen in this square. In 1682 his successor, the bishop
Cortigiani, bought other houses and enlarged the Seminary. The building
was inaugurated in 1713.
The Cathedral is dedicated to both Sainte Assunta and Saint Genesio. It
was originally a Romanesque building, but it has been remodelled several
times and exhibits Gothic and some Renaissance architectural elements.
The façade incorporates a number of colourful majolica bowls. The
interior has Latin cross plan with a central nave with two side aisles. The
Cathedral’s Bell Tower, an annexed fortification, is called the “Matilde
Tower” and features an asymmetrical clock.
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10. The tower of Frederick II, thus named in honour of the Emperor who
ordered it to be built between 1217 and 1223, stands at the top of the hill.
Frederick’s chancellor, Pier delle Vigne, was imprisoned here for treason
until his death. From the summit of the tower it is possible to see the entire
area of the lower Valdarno as far as the hills of Volterra, the Apennines
and the sea. On the evening of 23 July 1944, during the Second World
War, the tower was destroyed by the German Army to prevent the Allies
from using it as a gun sighting tower. The tower which you can see now
was rebuilt in 1958 by Renato Baldi and the engineer Emilio Brizzi.
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11. The Oratory of the Loretino, built at the end of the 13th
century inside the
Town Hall as the private chapel of the governors, became an important site
of worship for the people of San Miniato in the 14th
century when it came
to house the wooden image of the most holy Crucifix. The oratory contains
paintings and frescoes by Francesco Lanfranchi, called “Spillo”, a
magnificent altar made of carved and gilded wood and a wooden statue of
the Madonna of Loreto which gives the chapel its present name. The walls
are decorated with 15th
-century frescoes illustrating episodes from the life
of Christ such as the “Nativity”, “The Adoration of the Magi”, “The Last
Supper” and “the Flagellation”.
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12. The Town Hall dates back to the 14th
century. It is situated in front of the
Sanctuary of the Most Holy Crucifix. The “Sala del Consiglio” contains
frescoes by Francesco di Ser Cenni.
This Church was built in 1718.The interior of the church has a Greek cross
plan. There are frescoes by Antonio Domenico Barberini. On the main
altar there is a tabernacle which contains the famous Holy Crucifix.The
legend says that the simulacrum was brought to San Miniato by two
mysterious travellers who left it in the house of a poor widow shout up in a
casket which emanated an “arcane” light at night.
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13. In 1211 some noble” people of San Maniato" invited San Francis to stay in
the town, he was a guest in the nearby Santa Gonda farm and they gave
him a place to worship and a place for his followers to stay. The building
was enlarged immediately with the help of friar Elia, an architect of the
friary of Assisi. In 1276 the construction of the new church began and in
1343 some places for the use of the convent and sacristy were added.
Inside it there are two cloisters: the "father's cloister" was built during the
16th
century, while the "novice's cloister" was built during the 18th
century.
The white truffle of San Miniato Hills, the Tuber Magnatum Pico (its
scientific name),has been treasure for the truffle hunters from San Miniato
for more than a century. Every year, in the month of November, the
Mostra Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco is held in
San Miniato. It is a market that attracts
thousands of Italian and foreign visitors. The
white truffle of San Miniato is served in the best
restaurants in the world and it is very expensive
also because it is found in moderate quantities
in a particular period of the year. The value of
the white truffle of San Miniato lies in the fact
that truffles are found by organised family groups, the so-called “Tartufai
delle Colline San Miniatesi”. These families have their own secrets
handed down through generations, their truffle dogs and their hidden
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14. paths. There are more than 400 gatherers in the Egola, Elsa and Era
Valleys, all tributaries of the Arno river. These families have their own
secrets handed down through generations, their truffle dogs and their
hidden paths.
RECIPE:
• Risotto with truffles…
Peel and finely slice the onion. Cook it Ingredients:
in a little olive oil in an earthenware -400g rice type “Arborio”
pan until tender. Add the rice and or “Carnaroli”
sauté for a few minutes before sprinkling - 1 white truffle
in with the wine. When the wine has - 1 l of stock
evaporated, gradually add the boiling - 60g butter
stock and continue to cook. - 50g grated parmesan
In the meantime, brush the truffle - 1 glass sparkling white
well. Cut part of it into very thin flakes wine
with a truffle-cutter and grate the rest. - 1 onion
When the rice is nearly done, add the
parmesan, the grated truffle and the soft
butter and mix well. Remove the pan
from the heat and cover it with a cloth.
Leave to rest for a few minutes.
Serve with a sprinkling of flaked truffle and additional grated parmesan
.
The “Città Slow” (slow town)Association has recently come to life in San
Miniato. But San Miniato is also a
“Città dei Sapori”( the town of
flavours) and it is famous for its
wines, extra virgin olive oil , pork
products, and many other products
from the surrounding countryside.
With these raw materials, skilled artisans of taste create high quality
typical products which have become the basis of the Slow Food
Association.
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15. Theatre, shows and San Miniato are closely linked, perhaps ever since the
people of San Miniato chose San Genesio, an actor, to be their patron saint
many centuries ago. In 1947 the Istituto del Dramma Popolare( the
Institute of the popular Drama) was established,
which puts on an open-air performance of an
original religious drama in San Miniato every
year. This show attracts the most important
international dramatists and the most famous
Italian directors and actors. For more than ten
years San Miniato has hosted “Prima del Teatro”, the European School for
actors that brings together the best masters and young talents in Europe in
June and July. The town has also held on “La Luna è azzurra”,an
international puppet festival, for more than twenty years.
The town of San Miniato offers visitors the possibility to stay in hotels or
historic Palazzos. There are lots of
numerous farmhouses or farm holiday
houses immersed in the beautiful
countryside. Furthermore visitors can
easily reach all the cities of art in Tuscany
from this area, thanks to its central position and good road and railway
network.
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16. The area of Ponte a Egola, in the municipality of San Miniato, is the
location of one of the most famous national tanning and
leather manufacturing districts. In the second half of the 19th
century there were already four tanneries with about 65
employees. The 1950s and 1960s saw the boom in the sector
and today thanks to the skills and hard work of its people,
Ponte a Egola is one of the most important tanning districts in the world,
producing 85% of Italian leather, branded “Vero Cuoio Italiano” (Real
Italian Leather), and of leathers worked with vegetable products with the
brand “Mani Toscane”. About
one hundred companies, which
employ more than one thousand
people, offer the national and
foreign markets products of the
highest quality for shoes, leather goods, fashion and furniture. Innovation,
technological development, and constant attention to the environment led
Ponte a Egola to build a centralized conditioner system in 1980, one of the
first and most efficient in Italy.
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