San Miniato | Museum of Sacred Art – Matilde Tower

The Diocesan Museum of San Miniato is one of the first in Italy. Housed in the former sacristies adjacent to the Cathedral, it collects works of sculpture, painting and minor arts from the parishes of the diocese.

The Museum

Located in Piazza del Duomo, it bears architectural witness to the past presence of the Swabian emperors in the city. The five rooms display around fifty works in chronological order from the 13th to the 18th century.

Standing out among the sculptures are the slabs of the ambo of the Cathedral and the terracotta bust of the Redeemer, from the school of Verrocchio. Minor works of art include the group of 31 ceramic basins of Islamic manufacture from the end of the 12th century, removed from the façade of the Cathedral.

There are also removed parts of frescoes, wooden panels, bas-reliefs, wooden statues, bronze crosses, canvases and an original scale model depicting the Church of the Holy Crucifix.

The Tower of Matilda

Behind the museum stands the mighty bell tower known as the Tower of Matilda because, according to legend, Matilda of Canossa was born in the nearby Palazzo dei Vicari. The tower was originally built as a defensive wall post and only later became the bell tower of the Cathedral, also serving as the civic tower of San Miniato.

Virtual Tour