Chiesa di San Salvatore al Monte

"The church of San Salvatore al Monte is an important basilica in Florence located on the hill behind Piazzale Michelangelo, the Monte delle Croci, just below the basilica of San Miniato. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century, in the simple style of the Renaissance, by the Florentine architect Simone del Pollaiolo, on an oratory previously dedicated to San Damiano. Michelangelo was very attached to this area of ​​the city and in particular to this harmonious church, which he affectionately called my beautiful villanella. Starting from the siege of 1529, and throughout the 16th century, the church and the convent suffered serious damage, only partially contained by restoration, so much so that in 1665 the friars definitively left San Salvatore, in an advanced state of decay, to the Spanish Franciscans called Scalzetti, and moved to Ognissanti, taking with them many of the furnishings and decorations."

"Venture just a few minutes walk further uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo to find San Salvatore al Monte. Constructed in the 15th century as a chapel and convent, San Salvatore is also the seat of the Franciscan Missionary Center. On first glance the chapel presents itself as small and humble. However, among further investigation, you will find a dozen sacristies and two other small chapels. Michelangelo himself is said to have greatly admired this place of worship, beautiful in it’s simplicity. For me, San Salvatore al Monte is a refreshing reminder of the purity of religious, purpose-filled architecture, before the complexities of the competitive, elite Renaissance families became a major factor in religious architecture and interior design."