cemetery gate, San Miniato al Monte, Florence, Italy

 

a dreaded sunny day
so let's go where we're happy
and I meet you at the cemetery gates
oh, Keats and Yeats are on your side
a dreaded sunny day
so let's go where we're wanted
and I meet you at the cemetery gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
but you lose
'cause weird lover Wilde is on mine  - the Smiths 'cemetery gates'

 

San Miniato al Monte is a basilica in Florence standing atop one of the highest points in the city

it has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Italy and is one of the most beautiful churches in Italy (and believe me there are a lot of churches in Italy) it is one of my favourites (and believe me i’ve visited lots of them)

the church was built in 1015 over an earlier church that marked the spot where the head of St Minias, a 3^rd century Roman soldier bounced when it was axed off by other Roman soldiers – allegedly

the remarkable geometric pattern of green, black and white marble that adorns its facade was begun in 1090 though funds only permitted the embellishment of the lower half of the front

the upper half is full of curious astrological symbolism (as is the intarsia marble pavement inside) – someone has even written a whole book about the astrological symbolism

the decoration of the upper half was paid for by the arte di calamila - the guild that made a fortune buying bolts of fine wool dyeing them a deep red or scarlet that no one else in Europe could imitate then selling them back for twice the price