San Miniato

San Miniato is in the northeast corner of the province of Pisa. San Miniato is a cramped, picturesque ancient city strung along a high ridge. There are stunning views over the Tuscan countryside. It is the site of a famous truffle festival each autumn. In the valley below, the new town of San Miniato Basso provides modern shopping, housing, and transportation connections. Although officially in the province of Pisa, it is an easy day trip from Florence. Etruscan and Roman remains in the area date back to the 3rd century B.C.E. The present settlement dates back to a church built in 713 to the martyr Miniato. In the middle ages its rulers were Germanic. It was known as "San Miniato al Tedesco". Fredrick II, Duke of Saxony, built a castle in 1218 and made San Miniato a tax collection centre. As Saxon power declined, the city was free for a while. It fell under Florentine rule as the 1400s approached. It was on a pilgrimage route from France to Rome, trod by peasants and nobility alike. In the 17th to 19th centuries, universities were founded in San Miniato. World War II combat destroyed the tower of Frederic II and several other old buildings by 1945, but the present tower was rebuilt in 1957. The town and its hinterland are noted for truffles, for leather production, for education, and for theatre. Its legacy includes many museums. 1 Uffico Turismo (Tourist Information Office), Piazza del Popolo, 1 (on the southwest corner of the plaza, opposite the church), ☏ +39 057142745, fax: +39 05714274. (updated Sep 2020)

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San Miniato is a stopover point on The Via Francigena. You can reach Civitas Vaticana - Città del Vaticano in 23 days, Acquapendente in 11 days and Siena in 5 days.