Church of S. Miniato al Monte

Once reaching the top of the stairs to Piazzale Michelangelo I saw that there were another group of stairs just across the street that seemed to follow the same path.  Assuming that they led to the Church of S. Miniato al Monte, I took them and only later realized that there was another set of stairs a little bit down the road.  These stars were a little grander in their decoration as they led first to a cemetery and then up another flight to the church.  This church has an impressive white facade with a mural occupying the center square above a relatively small window.  The painting has a gold background and gives this building a richer feeling than the church I visited a little bit down the hill.

The first thing that I noticed was that the entire floor was used as a memorial.  Whether these tombs are still there or they are just used as memorials it is still something that I have never seen before.  I believe it disrespectful to walk on a burial sight; in cemeteries you always make it appoint to walk around the plots and not on them, so it was a bit shocking to see this floor to be lines with memorials.  There was also a separate room to on the left side of the building that held an alter and a tomb.  This one looked like an entire sarcophagus as well as a memorial with very precise sculptures in decoration.  The cemetery outside the church seems to be one that is still in use.  The dates have a wide range as do the aesthetics of the stones used as markers for the graves.  This makes me think about who is buried here and why.  

This is a magnificent building in its decoration and feeling.  It still surprises me after how many churches I have seen in Florence, and in Italy how none of them look the same - yes they follow the same format but they all have something very unique about their mood and feeling.