San Miniato al Monte

Art history 'class', week 2.
We went to this Benedictine monestory in the hills overlooking Florence. The facade is decorated with green Prato and white Carra marble inlays that emphasize the Romanesque architecture. The interior was added onto up until the Baroque period, thus its columns and capitals vary in origin. The chapel contains frescoes and marble inlayed floors from the 13th and 14th century. Monks of the Benedictine order built their monasteries away from the cities, up on the hillsides to be closer to God -- I say they did it for the view.