Miniato was brought before Decius and told to sacrifice to the Roman gods. His refusal led to several tortures. He was put into a furnace, then stoned, then put in an amphitheater with a lion. None of these punishments harmed him. Finally, he was taken to the Piazza della Signoria (the meeting place of Florentine politics) in Florence and beheaded. The legend then takes an even more drastic turn than surviving burning and stoning.
Miniato's body picked up his head, then crossed the Arno river and walked up the Mons Florentinus to his hermitage. The hill is now called Saint Minias Hill. A shrine was erected there, and there was a chapel by the 8th century.
In 1013, a bishop began a church named for the saint, with a Benedictine monastery adjacent. The high altar is said to contain the bones of Miniato. A Byzantine-style mosaic dated from 1297 of Christ flanked by Mary and Miniato is over the apse (see illustration). Miniato is shown holding a crown because of his royal origin. It also contains a carving of all the zodiac symbols.
A two kilometer pilgrimage exists that mirrors the walk of the headless saint. You can read a description and see some photographs of the views here.
The Benedictine monastery was transferred o the Cluniacs, and then in 1373 to the Olivetans, a group that has never been mentioned in this blog before. I will tell you about them next time.
