3 Best Sights in San Miniato, Tuscany

In 1211 St. Francis founded the Convento di San Francesco, which contains two cloisters and an ornate wooden choir. For a dose of monastic living, you can stay overnight.

The Convento e Chiesa di Santi Jacopo e Lucia is also oddly known as the church of San Domenico, which refers to the fact that the Dominicans took over the church in the 14th century. Most of the interior suffers from too much baroque, but there is a lovely sculpted tomb by Bernardo Rossellino for Giovanni Chellini, a doctor who died in 1461. You'll find it on the right-hand nave close to the high altar.

San Miniato's Duomo, set in a lovely piazza, has a simple yet pretty 13th-century facade, which has been restored. It also has a lovely pulpit designed by Giovanni Duprè, which was executed by his daughter Amalia (1845–1928). The interior is largely uninteresting, though there's a poignant plaque commemorating the 55 citizens who were killed in this church in July 1944 by German occupying forces.