After 18 months behind scaffolding, the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte has completed a sweeping restoration project funded by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
The 3.6 million euro intervention, carried out by the state property agency in collaboration with Florence’s cultural heritage authority, tackled the basilica’s white and serpentine green marble façade, bell tower and roofing system, as well as deeper structural concerns. Inspections of the wooden roof trusses revealed weaknesses that had gone unaddressed for centuries, prompting reinforcement work and the installation of steel tie rods and monitoring sensors, particularly on the north side of the church where gradual structural movement had long been documented. Seismic safety measures were also built into the project.
The reopening was marked on May 7 with a public ceremony and a performance by the children’s choir Piccolo Coro Melograno with President Sergio Mattarella visiting the abbey the next day. After dark, a video mapping installation projected across the freshly restored façade, running nightly until the early hours of May 11. The show used the geometry of the marble inlays as a canvas, animating the basilica’s architectural evolution across the centuries.
Throughout the works, the basilica remained open to church goers and visitors. Transparent coverings on the scaffolding kept the façade visible from the city and guided visits allowed the public to observe the restoration work up close.
With the scaffolding gone and the façade clean, the iconic church re-emerges unobstructed above the skyline.
