(09.11.2018) CARTOLINE 2018 - MILLENARIO S. MINIATO

The four Vatican postcards are dedicated to the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte (Saint Minias on the Mountain) in Florence marking this year the millennium of its foundation. The Basilica takes its name from the Saint centuries ago who is recognized as the first martyr of Florence and whose relics have been there since 1013. The oldest historic testimony of a church dedicated to Saint Minias goes back to 783, but in 1018 the building was in neglect and such dangerous condition that Florentine Bishop Ildebrando began to rebuild it from scratch in order to conserve the relics of Saint Minias, found under the current “holy door”, in a more dignified way. The cover reproduces the facade of the Basilica, one of the finest examples of Florentine Romanesque structures, while the postcards feature scenes from the life of the Saint as found on the 14th century altarpiece, a work by Jacopo del Casentino.